Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword
by Shrang
Summary: A novelisation attempt for Fire Emblem 7: The Blazing Sword. T for some violence and swearing, I guess. Reviews would be nice! This is now COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to this novelisation of FE7! This will be a twenty chapter long novelisation, following Eliwood's (and partly Hector's) story from Chapter 11 (In the game) to the end.

If you're wondering why I left Lyn's story out, it's because I did not think that it was important. I mean, come on, it was only there in the game to teach you the mechanics of the game, and half of it was just bandit killing boredom. The main character of the story is obviously Eliwood, and putting in Lyn's story would just be distracting. If you read the first chapter, you will find I have essentially summarised Lyn's story in a single paragraph, there's no need for more.

This brings me to my next point. There is no tactician in this novelisation. The reason is kind of important. The tactician is a character built into the game that interacts with the player, allowing the player to be immersed in the game. Here, the story is told through a narrator (me), making the tactician's job utterly redundant.

Without further ado, let's get on with the story-telling, sit back and enjoy!

o0o

o0o

o0o

**_Prologue: Aenir_**

_Once, dragons and humans co-existed._

_They shared a peace forged in wisdom,_

_a peace that lasted many generations._

_All that was lost when mankind disrupted_

_this balance in a sudden onslaught._

_Man fought dragon in a savage war_

_that shook the foundations of the world._

_This war was called the Scouring._

_Defeated and humbled,_

_dragons vanished from the realm._

_In time, man rebuilt and spread_

_his dominion across the land and_

_on to the islands beyond._

- Ostian history book

It was a stormy night when three people entered the ancient temple. The temple itself was over five hundred years old. Moss has grown around the edges of the walls, while animals played around in its courtyards. It was here that three people, a man and his two children, a girl and a boy, decided to stay for the night. The man was in his late fourties, while the children did not look older than 10 years old. Both the children had silvery green hair and bright red eyes. The man was carrying his two children on his back and was out of breath. They looked like three people running away from somewhere.

The man put his children in a courtyard, squatted down in front of the children. "You two hide here," he said. He then took out a bag and opened it. "There's food and water in this pack. If you ration yourselves, it should last about ten days." The girl looked at him with a heavy heart. She knew her father was leaving, perhaps for good. Their mother, Aenir, went missing that morning, and their father woke them up early and has been running with them ever since. Now, with the prospect of leaving their father as well, they could not help but feel sad.

"What about you, daddy?" asked the girl. "Are you going away, too?" The man nodded.

"Daddy has to go and get Aenir," he said. "I'm going to go and get mummy so we can continue living as a family." The children looked at each other curiously. Was their father really going to bring back their mother? If so, why did he speak with such a mournful tone, like he'll never see them again?

The girl asked: "Mummy? Where is she?"

"Some bad men took her away," explained the man. "They could not have gone very far, though, the Dread Isle is an island, after all. I have to go after them and save mummy. You two children wait here for ten days, if daddy is not back after those ten days, take your brother and go to the other side. You're a clever girl, you know the way, right?"

So their mother was taken by some thugs and their father wanted to save her. The little girl knew her father stood no chance. If they can kidnap their mother, what chance, did their father stand? Their father studied dark magic, and was reasonably adept at it, but his power was nothing on their mother's. Knowing that their father was not coming back, the children hugged their father and cried. Their father was trying his best to put on a strong face, all his reluctance and sadness to part with his children was hidden deep down.

"You're good children, both of you," he said in an uneven tone. "I'll come back for you, I'll come back... I promise." At this, he swept his cloak and walked away. His children watched as he became smaller and smaller, until he vanished from sight.

o0o

A thousand years later, a tall, cloaked man would arrive at the temple. He wore a turban that covered his right eye.

"What is this place?" he said to himself. "I was supposed to be at the Dragon's Gate. Why am I here?" Looking around the place, he could not help but feel a certain familiarity. Like trying to fish a precious ring from a deep well, he digged deep into his memories.

"Ah, now I remember," he continued. "I was here a long, long time ago. During the Scouring, I studied dark magic here. I left something here..." Again digging into his memories to try and remember what he left behind, his head started throbbing from the strain. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not remember what he left behind. Blurring images came to his mind, but none of them clear enough to allow him to decipher anything.

Finally, he gave up. "Bah," he spat. "It must not have be worth much if I never bothered returning for it. I have power now, nothing else matters. I will open the Dragon's Gate and get even more power, the power to defeat anyone. Power..." As he finished musing to himself, he disappeared. Little did he know the things he left behind were very precious indeed.

o0o

o0o

o0o

**_Chapter 1: A Thousand Years later and the Young Man on an Adventure_**

The city of Pherae was usually a busy place, a place where merchants came and went. While not as busy as the nearby city of Ostia, it was hard to find a day where business was not present. However, the past few days was different. The Marquess of Pherae, Lord Elbert, had disappeared, along with a hundred of his best knights, and because of this, bandits started raiding villages and people did not dare to go outside. Without its head, Pherae had descended into a state of fear. It was in this chaos that a young man with flaming red hair decided to go outside and leave his home.

The young man was Eliwood, the only son of Marquess Pherae. He was reasonably built, nor tall, not short, not fat, nor skinny. His bright blue eyes brightened his facial features. In fact, if he did not wear the clothes of a lordling, one would easily mistake him for an ordinary, albeit handsome peasant.

"Lord Eliwood," said a purple haired knight next to Eliwood. "We leave on your word." The knight's name was Marcus, a veteran. He spent most of his time serving Eliwood, so he was not amongst the knights that disappeared along with Lord Elbert.

"I see, thank you, Marcus," acknowledged Eliwood. He then turned to a beautiful, purple haired woman.

"Mum, it is time for us to go." After hearing that his father has disappeared, Eliwood became incredibly worried. He would pace around his room for hours on straight, always pondering on where his father could have gone to. One day, he had had enough, and decided to go out and search for his father himself. While his mother disagreed at first, Eliwood was finally able to convince her to let him to for Lord Elbert. Even though young and naïve, Eliwood's abilities were above average and could defend himself with a sword very well.

"Eliwood," his mother said with a tone of reluctance. "Promise me that you will return home safely. I'm worried about your father as well, but if anything were to happen you, my only son, I would not be able to live with that sorrow."

Eliwood, itching to go out on his first adventure, assured his mother: "I know mum, please do not worry. Dad is alive, I know it. I promise that I will find him and we will be a family again. Isadora," he turned to a blue haired female. "I will entrust my mother to you in my absence." The woman nodded in acknowledgement. Eliwood turned back to his mother. "Mum I will return, please rest easy." With this, Eliwood and Marcus marched off into the distance. After walking for a few kilometres, Eliwood turned his and looked back, his mother and Castle Pherae was just dots on the horizon. He could not help but feel a sense of emptiness.

"Well Marcus," he said. "It looks like it's just the two of us now."

"Not so, my lord," replied Marcus. He explained that his student, Lowen, is also travelling with them and was sent to a nearby village. Marcus did not want to leave Pherae without a larger team to accompany Eliwood, but Eliwood made it clear that he did not want to take any more knights away from Castle Pherae. He was concerned about his mother's safety and did not want to overuse the castle resources. Without any choice, Marcus told Lowen to find some mercenaries from the nearby village. After walking a little further, a young man with messy green hair and a teenage girl with green pigtails wearing a bandana approached them. The young man was Lowen.

"L-Lord Eliwood, C-Commander Marcus!" he seemed to be out of breath. "The village ahead... it is being attacked by bandits! This girl has more details." The girl introduced herself as Rebecca and was the daughter of the village magistrate.

"Lowen, Marcus!" called Eliwood. "We have to help the villagers!" Unlike numerous other lords, Eliwood was a righteous man. He would always go out of his way to help the needy, even if it meant risking his own life. While admirable, his mother had always disapproved, not due to intent but to the fact that she did want to see her son hurt. "Rebecca, you should stay here and stay out of sight," he added to the girl.

Rebecca was a rather tomboyish girl who loved to go out and hunt. Her skills with the bow and arrow were exceptional for her age. Hearing Eliwood order her to go an hide, she felt rather disappointed. Seeing her expression, Eliwood asked: "What's wrong? We're going to help your village."

Rebecca replied: "It's nothing, if it pleases you, I would rather fight alongside you. I go hunting almost every day, so I can use a bow quite efficiently." Eliwood did not think there was anything wrong with this, an extra hand in the battle is always good. "Just make sure if the fighting starts getting heavy, go and hide, okay?" he told her.

As they started marching towards the village, two men wielding large axes approached the group. One was plain looking with chestnut hair and small eyes, while the other looked rough and was wearing a headband. Fearing that they were bandits, Eliwood told them to stay armed and be on the defensive. The men put their axes on the ground and came with their hands in the air, showing that they did not harbour ill intentions. The rough looking fighter came forwards to greet Eliwood.

"Good day, Lord Eliwood, I am Bartre the Brave!" he said. Pointing towards the other man, he continued. "This is my mate Dorcas, I believe you've met him before." Eliwood looked at Dorcas and did think there was something familiar about him, but he could not tell what.

Dorcas smiled. "I was one of Lyndis' Legion, we met during Caelin's leadership dispute," he explained. Eliwood gasped in recognition. Lyndis, or Lyn for short, was a girl Eliwood met about a year ago. Lyndis was the granddaughter of the Lord Hausen, the Marquess of Caelin, another nation in Lycia. Born in Sacae, the land of the nomads, she discovered her heritage after chancing upon a pair of Caelin knights by the name of Sain and Kent, who were sent by Marquess Caelin to bring her back from Sacae. Her mother, Madelyn, was the daughter of Marquess Caelin. She fell in love with a Sacaen nomad and eloped with him. Enraged, Marquess Caelin disowned his daughter. However, the marquess realised his mistake many years later and sent Sain and Kent to Sacae to reconcile with his daughter, not knowing that Madelyn, her husband, and her entire tribe, were massacred by bandits. Only Lyn survived. At the time, Marquess Caelin's brother, Lundgren, tried to poison him and assassinate Lyn so he could take the throne. In the end, Lyn was able to fight her way into Caelin, kill Lundgren and reunite with her grandfather. Eliwood was the one who made sure no other Lycian nations were involved in the affair.

"Please to meet you again, Dorcas," said Eliwood courteously. "Your help is much appreciated."

After the pleasantries, Eliwood and his company moved towards the village. Chaos reigned. Houses were torched while people were fighting the bandits as best as they could. Eliwood and Marcus immediately ran into the battlefield and started killing bandits. Bartre rushed alongside them, chopping down bandits with his axe, while Dorcas protected Rebecca, who was firing arrows at the enemies.

"This child is amazing," thought Dorcas. "I wonder how she compares to Wil of last year." Wil was an archer in Lyndis' Legion.

Although numerous, the bandits were only effective during chaos. They lacked discipline and organisation, something which was easily preyed upon by Eliwood and his group. The fact that Eliwood and Marcus carried swords was also a huge advantage against the bandits as well. Within an hour, with the help of the villagers, every bandit was killed, including their leader. 'This should set an example to all the others trying to prey on the innocent,' thought Marcus.

Seeing their village saved, the people all went and thanked Eliwood for his help. The magistrate walked up to Eliwood.

"You must be Lord Eliwood, yes?" he greeted. "Our deepest thanks for your coming to the aid of our fair village."

Waving his hand, Eliwood smiled. "Speak nothing of it, magistrate," he said. "It is a lord's duty to protect the citizens. Your daughter is a fantastic archer, by the way." Rebecca blushed at his compliment.

The magistrate smiled at his daughter, but looked pensive after that. "If only that were true, my lord," he sighed. "The good folk of Laus know so such protection. Their marquess, Lord Darin, is too busy preparing for war and ignores all complaints of bandits and thieves."

Eliwood was shocked. As well-mannered and noble as he was, he still lived in the castle for most of his life and was quite naïve to the outside world. "Preparing for war?" he gasped with wide open eyes. "Are you sure?" He knew the son of Lord Darin, Erik, and while Erik was rather rude, he found it hard that his father would be preparing for war.

"I would not lie, my lord," continued the magistrate. "My brother lived in Laus until just a few days ago. His home was torched and he had no choice but to flee and come here. According to him, Laus could go to war any day now. It's all the people of Laus are talking about." Eliwood was horrified. He had never heard of any noble do this to his citizens. To him, this was possibly one of the greatest crimes a noble could commit.

"Magistrate, could you please prepare a messenger to tell my mother, Lady Eleanora, this," he ordered. "Tell her to have people prepared if Laus decides to invade." The magistrate nodded and set off at once.

"Lord Eliwood," started Marcus. "If this is indeed true, the situation is a grave one. If Marquess Laus is readying for war, his target is most likely another Lycian territory. This may be connected with Lord Elbert's disappearance."

Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "You think so?" he asked surprisingly. "My father and Marquess Laus, it's a tenuous connection, but it's as good a start to any, I suppose. Let's go to Laus, we need to learn more." Marcus nodded in agreement. They set off to leave.

As they were leaving, Rebecca wanted to follow them, but was stopped by her father. "Rebecca!" he called. "Where do you think you're going, young lady?"

Rebecca stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Dad," she said quietly, as if scared. "I want to go with Lord Eliwood."

Incredulous, the magistrate went forward to hold onto her hand. "Don't be ridiculous, girl!" he implored. "Lord Eliwood is not going on a picnic, he's riding into danger!" His son had already run away from home five years ago and he still had not fully gotten over it yet, now his daughter wanted to leave as well.

Rebecca however, smiled back. "I know, dad," she argued. "That is why I want to go. We owe him our lives, and I want to repay him. Although I'm not the best archer around, I can at least him! And..." she paused for a second, trying to think of how to say what she wanted to say. "...I may find Dan somewhere. You're the village magistrate and have responsibilities. This is all I can offer. Come on, dad, let me go!"

Touched by her chivalry, the magistrate could only shake his head. "Dear me," he sighed. "You're as stubborn as your mother was... alright. You must bow to Lord Eliwood on this matter. If he consents, then you may go." Delighted, Rebecca thanked her father and ran off immediately. "Rebecca, come back, I haven't finished yet," called the magistrate. Kneeling down to look Rebecca in the eyes, he put his hands on her shoulders. "Lord Elbert has always been kind to us," he continued. "Follow his son with a true heart, Rebecca. Serve Lord Eliwood well, like I have with his father." Nodding in acknowledgement, Rebecca hugged her father goodbye, grabbed her bow and followed Eliwood to the horizon.

o0o

In the nearby Lycian nation of Santaruz, the marquess Lord Helman, was pacing around in his room agitatedly. He had just received a message from the son of his friend, Lord Elbert. Since Eliwood decided to head to Laus, he needed to cross Santaruz to get there. He was looking for clues on his father, so the more people he talked to, the better. So, he decided to seek an audience with his father's old friend, Lord Helman to try and gather up information.

"You seemed rather troubled, Marquess Santaruz," a cloaked figure from the corner of the room spoke in a cold voice. Although his face cannot be completely seen, what was visible was creepy enough to make anyone shiver. His face was ghastly pale, had blood red lips and cat-like golden eyes, which carried malignant auras to them.

"Eliwood is here..." whispered Lord Helman. "Master Ephidel, are you sure?"

Rolling his eyes, Ephidel sighed. "Yes, Marquess Santaruz," he said in a bored voice. "He has set up camp on a small hill south of here. He seeks permission to enter Santaruz Castle and seeks an audience with you."

Shaking, Lord Helman looked guilty and worried. "Could it be..." he stuttered. "Do you think Eliwood has come to ask about his father? If that's the case, I don't know what to tell him..."

'This old twit is truly stupid,' thought Ephidel. 'The obvious answer is right in front of your eyes and you are blind to it...'

"Tell him you know nothing and be on his way," he replied. He closed his eyes in disgust as he saw Lord Helman shake his head.

"I know young Eliwood well," explained Lord Helman. "I am old friends with his father, Lord Elbert. I have no children of my own and so I rather like him. I don't believe I have the gall to look him in the eye and lie to him."

Snorting, Ephidel rolled his eyes again. "We have no choice then," he said rather impatiently. "Let's just chase the boy away. If you don't speak with him, then you don't need to tell lies."

Lord Helman seemed shocked. "Wait, you're going to harm him?" he stammered.

Ephidel smiled maliciously. "No, Lord Helman," he said silkily. "Not harm, just frighten. A scratch or two will not leave any scars. He will run home to Pherae with his tail between his legs and be done with his little adventure. After all, he is the only one that Pherae has left."

Lord Helman did not know whether he was able to trust Ephidel, but what he proposed seemed to work out. "I trust that you won't hurt him, Master Ephidel," he said finally.

o0o

About ten kilometres away, Eliwood and his group had set up camp. They had sent a messenger to the marquess of Santaruz, requesting his audience. Marcus had decided that entering Laus with such a small contingency was not wise, especially when the nation was preparing for war. They planned to ask for Marquess Santaruz's help as well as ask him about clues about Lord Elbert's disappearance.

"Lord Helman..." Eliwood had told them. "He's not only my father's friend, but I've also known him since I was a child. I'm sure he will be able to help us." So, as they stayed on the hill, they hunted for animals and set up camp, waiting for a return message from Lord Helman. After a few hours on the hill, they saw a rough looking man walk up to them.

"Noble sires," he called. "Alms for a poor village, please!" Eliwood was about to step in and help the man when Marcus suddenly pulled him back. Giving him a scolding look, Marcus wagged his finger, signalling Eliwood to stop what he was doing. He then stepped forward to confront the man.

"Poor villager?" questioned Marcus. "You look nothing like a honest man. Clear the road, step away quickly or..."

The man raised his head and laughed. "Step away quickly?" he retorted. "Good advice, maybe you're the one who should follow it!" He stepped forward to throw out a punch at Marcus, who quickly dodged it. Marcus was about to strike back when the thug moved back out of the way.

"Someone wants the boy in an early grave," he told them. "A shame if you ask me, but he'll die here today. Come on boys, earn your keep!" With this, about fifteen armed assassins jumped out from the nearby shrubs and closed in on Eliwood and his group.

"Lord Eliwood, watch out!" Marcus cried as he shielded the lordling from the front with Lowen, with Bartre and Dorcas taking the back. Rebecca stayed close to Eliwood and started shooting arrows at the enemy. Although they were outnumbered, Eliwood and his friends' fighting styles are relatively defensive, allowing them to fend off the enemies. The fact that Marcus and Lowen fought on horseback helped their cause as well. Eliwood's sword style was an elegant one, it was rather pretty to look at from afar. He would thrust forward, then quickly twirl around and slash it to the side, all the while skipping around with nimble feet, making it extremely difficult for the enemies to catch him. The leader of the assassin group was standing next to a tree with his axe slung over his shoulder, watching with great interest.

"Hmph, he puts up a good fight for such a pampered noble pup," he snorted. "Come, let me show you boys how it's done!" Brandishing his axe, he also leapt into the fray.

At this moment, a young, blue haired man wearing clothes and armour fit for a lord and holding his own axe, marched towards Eliwood and his group. Seeing a soldier standing on the side waiting for his chance to pounce into the action, he quickly nudged the man on the shoulder.

"Hey you, soldier," the young lord asked. "What's going on over there? Are you just going to stand there and watch, fool?"

The soldier looked surprised. "Who do you think you are?" he demanded. "This is Santaruz. What occurs here is no affair of any foreign lordling!"

The young lord laughed loudly. "I believe I'm going to have to disagree with you," he said with a smile. "You see, the man your friends are attacking happen to be a friend of mine."

The soldier gasped. "What? A friend?" he stuttered, as the blue haired lordling moved with surprising speed toward him, and in one swift stroke, he was killed when the axe struck him in the forehead. The young lord brushed the corpse aside. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry," he said quickly.

From behind him, a high pitched scream came. "Ewwwww!" yelled a girl with pink pigtails with her mouth wide open. "Look at that! How terrible! I loathe violence!"

From behind her, a brown haired young man rushed forward to the lord and gave him a high five. "Nicely done, Lord Hector!" he cheered. "You're a fighter born!" Hector grinned. As he was about to walk off to help Eliwood, a serious-looking knight pulled him back.

"Lord Hector," he called. "I cannot condone resorting to force so quickly."

Hector snorted. "Chastise me later, Oswin," he said impatiently. "Come on, we need to help Eliwood!" Shaking his head, Oswin could only sigh.

"Help Eliwood?" he moaned. "That sounds like a convenient excuse for more violence." Irritated, Hector threw his axe at the knight, who promptly jumped out of the way.

"You coming or not, Oswin?" Hector asked Oswin, who promptly nodded and obeyed.

"Matthew!" Hector called the brown haired man. "Take Serra and find somewhere to hide!"

The man named Matthew moaned when he heard this. The girl, Serra, was infamous for being an annoying loudmouth. "What?" he complained. "I don't want to go with Serra!" Serra was also angry that Hector had cast her aside. "No!" she yelled angrily. "I want to go with you two!" Hector slammed his face into his palm. "Look," he ordered, losing his patience. "You'll just slow us down. Oswin, come with me, you two stay back otherwise I'll stick this axe up both your asses, AT THE SAME TIME." As soon as he finished speaking, he walked off briskly with Oswin to join in the fight.

Eliwood and his group were at a deadlock with the assassins, neither side being able to break through. While Eliwood's group had the defensive stances and formations to keep the assassins at bay, they did not have the offensive strength to push them back or injure any of the opposition. After about half an hour of defending, they were starting to get tired. 'How many are there?' wondered Eliwood. 'If this continues, we'll eventually get tired and lose.'

The man leading the group of assassins was also thinking the same thing. "You're not bad for a pampered little pup," he sneered. "But you will die here. Eventually you'll lose your energy and we'll overcome you, hahaha!"

Suddenly, an axe out of nowhere and struck him in the head, killing him instantly. 'What the?' thought Eliwood. Turning around, he saw a young blue-haired lordling and a powerful looking armoured knight rushing into the action.

"Hector, Oswin!" he called. "What are you-?" Hector paid him no attention and picked up his axe to continue his assault on the assailants.

With their leader killed and being flanked by Hector and Oswin from behind, the assassin group went into disarray.

"Charge!" called Marcus as he steered his horse toward the enemy, stabbing them with his spear. Within two minutes, Eliwood, Hector and the others had cleared all the assassins.

"Whew," Hector breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that all of them?" Hector was Eliwood's best friend, and they had known each other since they were children. Delighted to see his friend come to his aid, Eliwood can only smile ear to ear.

"Hector!" he called. "When did you get here? What are you doing here?" Hector snorted and patted him on the back.

"You wound me!" he complained. "You're looking for your father, right? Why didn't you send word to me?"

Eliwood felt a twinge of guilt, but recovered quickly. "Your brother was just named Marquess Ostia. He's going to be very busy setting up his cabinet. You're his brother, he'll need your support."

Hector shook his head. While he was Marquess Ostia's younger brother, he had no interest in politics. While his brother handled all of the major affairs in Ostia, Hector spent most his time down at the local pub, hanging out with all sorts of characters.

"This is what you call _real_ politics," Hector had always said. "Talking to the people, not sitting up in your castle and playing polo with other nobles." Due to his eccentric nature, Hector's brother Lord Uther decided to just let him be and do whatever he likes, but took away any voice that Hector had in his government, not that the younger one cared. Although Hector was a bit of a rogue, he was very kind at heart, and fiercely loyal. While he did not care about the bigger picture, he would never hesitate to help out a friend in need, even if it meant risking his own life to do it. When he heard that Lord Elbert had disappeared, he pleaded with his brother to send troops to find him. However, unlike Hector, Lord Uther had his eyes on the big picture, and thought it would be a waste to send out his troops to look for the lord of another nation. It would also weaken Ostia's defenses somewhat, and could pose a vulnerability. Frustrated, Hector decided to go and help Eliwood himself. Concerned for his safety, Lord Uther sent Matthew and Oswin to guard him, much to Hector's annoyance at being treated like a little child. Hyperactive as she always was, Serra followed them, making Hector even more angry.

"My brother isn't weak," explained Hector. "And he certainly won't want my help even if I offered it to him. He knew exactly what I was planning and he let me go." Eliwood seemed more relaxed after he heard that Lord Uther had given his permission.

"You know Oswin, don't you, Eliwood?" Hector continued, signalling for Oswin to come forward. "Well met, Lord Eliwood," he greeted. "Lord Uther was worried about Lord Hector travelling alone. I've been ordered to keep a close eye on him."

Eliwood laughed. He knew Hector's behaviour was usually questionable. "Of course! Good to have you have with us."

"Lord Hector!" a girl called with annoyance in her voice. It was Serra. "Why didn't you tell me that the fighting was over?" Turning around and seeing her run towards him, Hector hit his head with his hand again.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, my lord," Matthew apologised as he chased after Serra. "She escaped from my clutches and I couldn't restrain her any longer!"

Eliwood was watching in interest. "Are these your friends, Hector?" he asked.

Hector let out a long sigh. "I suppose you could call them that," he groaned. "One might have hoped for better ones, though."

This triggered a high-pitched "Whaaaaaaaaat?" from Serra. "That was uncalled for!" she hollered. "I can't believe you just said that! Matthew, did you just hear what he said about you?" Matthew did not seem worried. "Me?" he asked. "I thought he was talking about you!" Before Serra could open her mouth again, Eliwood decided to step in and change the topic.

"Hector, why don't you introduce us?" he asked.

Hector agreed. "The noisy one is Serra," he introduced. "Believe it or not, she's actually a cleric. The young man here is Matthew. He does a lot of sneaking around." Eliwood was confused.

"Sneaking around?" he asked. Matthew smiled and explained: "Well, I er... gather information, open doors, chests and that stuff. I've got nimble fingers."

Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "That sounds like a thief's work..." he mused, shaking his head. Hector, however, did not mind.

"Don't let it worry you, Eliwood," he assured his friend. "This journey... I suspect it will be harder than you imagine. You may have to accept things like this if you want to survive." Hector roamed the streets of Ostia and came into close proximity with many dodgy people, which made him a lot more street-wise than Eliwood, who spent most of his life in the castle. Matthew once worked as a thief with Lyn a year ago. Seeing his talents, Lord Uther decided to employ him as a spy for House Ostia. Hector was originally suspicious of Matthew following him, but eventually grew to trust the young thief.

Hearing Hector say such a thing, Eliwood started becoming suspicious. "Why do you say that Hector, do you know something?" he asked.

Hector shook his head. "Nothing specific," he started saying while pacing around. "There are rumours flying around, though. A league of assassins from Bern are moving around in Lycia. Experienced bounty hunters and mercenaries are vanishing."

As he heard Hector narrate his suspicions, Eliwood tried putting the knowledge he knew together. "That reminds me," he murmured. "One of the men that attacked us said something odd." Hector looked up.

"Lord Eliwood, if I may?" Marcus butted in. Eliwood nodded his approval. "The apparent leader of that gang of thugs indicated that someone was watching Lord Eliwood and that someone wanted him dead."

Hector scratched his head. "That is troubling..." he mused. "Actually, as we arrived, a knight of Santaruz, was merely watching the fight. I think he was planning on watching you die."

Eliwood's eyes went wide open. "What?" he gasped. "But Lord Helman... surely he wouldn't. Could it be that the Santaruz military was outside of Lord Helman's control? Had something happened to him?

"We need to go and see Lord Helman," said Eliwood. "All our information point to him at the moment, the assassins, the lack of response from his troops, we need to see him and get him to answer our questions." They all agreed that this was the best cause of option, and so speedily marched toward the capital of Santaruz with worry in their hearts.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2: Santaruz and Laus: Mysteries and Rebellions_**

Tensions ran deep in Santaruz Castle. Marquess had summoned the mysterious Ephidel to his room. As the mystery man arrived, the red-faced Lord Helman furiously slammed his palm onto the table, then spat at the floor.

"Master Ephidel!" he yelled at the hooded figure, voice shaking. "What is the meaning of this?"

Ephidel rotated his head to the right forty-five degrees, a seeming look of confusion on his face. "Peace, Lord Helman," he said in a faraway voice. "Whatever is wrong?"

Lord Helman slammed his palm onto the table again. "Hmph!" he snorted. "You said you were just going to scare Eliwood!"

Ephidel smiled. "I did," he replied. "That's exactly what I did. What did I do wrong?" Face turning purple, Lord Helman raised his sword at the cloaked man.

"Your men almost fucking killed him!" he spat. "My patience has run out! I've decided that I must tell Eliwood everything and apologise."

Ephidel was not scared of Lord Helman. After all, he himself was one of the most powerful fighters in the world. How would he be scared of an old man. Hearing Lord Helman's threat, his eyes were reduced to slits.

"You would betray us, Lord Helman?" he asked in low and dangerous voice. Lord Helman, in his anger and lack of composure, did not notice the change in tone of the enigmatic man.

"I am tired of you and I'm tired of your stupid Black Fang!" he roared. "Now, get out of my castle! Your presence alone makes me vomit!"

Ephidel laughed on the inside. 'And just how do you plan on removing me, old man?' he thought. "Lord Helman," he said in a silky but deadly voice. "Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?"

"Nothing!" came the reply.

Ephidel sighed regretfully. "Lord Helman," his voice suddenly went cold. "Do you know what the code of the Black Fang is? While you are not a member, you still hold vital information. The code of the Fang says 'The punishment for traitors is death'. Since you are no longer willing to co-operate with us, you are no longer of any use to us. Goodbye."

Leaping toward the marquess, he moved with blinding speed, faster than the older man can see. "What?" gasped Lord Helman before Ephidel suddenly appeared right in front of him, his right hand curled into a claw.

"Die," whispered Ephidel before plunging the claw into Lord Helman's chest and puncturing his heart. Blood and screaming were everywhere.

"Boies!" called Ephidel. A rough-looking armour knight walked into the room. "That little fool Eliwood will be here soon, keep him away from the castle at all costs. I want that little lordling dead," he ordered.

"As you wish, my master," came the reply as Ephidel disappeared into thin air.

o0o

Walking into the capital of Santaruz, Eliwood, Hector and friends rushed straight towards the castle where Marquess Santaruz lived.

"Excuse me!" Eliwood called a guard who stood at the entrance to the castle. "We have to see Lord Helman," he said quickly. "Tell him that his old friend's son is here to see him."

Before the guard could react, however, a loud laugh was heard from behind him.

"That's not going to happen, laddie!" boomed a fat, rough-looking, green haired, green moustached armour knight. This man was Boies.

Eliwood was unfazed. "Who are you, may ask your honoured name?" he asked, which induced another loud laugh from Boies.

"Who am I?" he replied. "There's no need for a dead man to know my name. Boy, you should worry about yourself more. You'll be worm's meat before much longer, hahaha!"

Listening to the rude armour knight, Hector's temper rose.

"Hmph, you think so?" he snorted angrily. Picking up his axe, he pointed it at Boies. "Maybe my axe will change your mind." This instilled another wild laugh from the armour knight. "Ohohoho!" snickered Boies. "The cub thinks he's a wolf! Does your bite match its mark? Tell you what, if you make it to me alive, we'll find out, right? Get 'em boys!"

As he finished speaking, about twenty armed thugs sprang out from the gardens and leapt at Eliwood and his friends. Whirling into battle position, Eliwood unsheathed his sword and fought for his life. He rarely fought others, the only real fighting came from fighting bandits every few months with his father's knights, and from his bimonthly spar with Hector. Now, all of a sudden, in the space of about a day, he just got into two deadly skirmishes against well-trained assassins. Marcus stayed very close to Eliwood to protect him, while Oswin did the same for Hector, albeit without nearly as much effort. Hector got into brawls often on the streets of Ostia, so his fighting experience was quite abundant.

"Oswin!" called Hector. "Go and protect Eliwood, I can hold off these guys just fine!" He then rushed off to attack a few assassins at once. His fighting style contrasted Eliwood's. It was rather crude, but extremely aggressive, so it was very difficult to defend against. While against Eliwood, one might find it difficult to penetrate his defensive stances, against Hector, it would be extremely difficult to find time to counter-attack under the relentless assaults of his axe.

Matthew stayed around on the side, making sure Serra was not hurt by the assassins. He would jump around rather quickly, dodging most of the enemies' attacks, then rushing in and stabbing them with his dagger. Suddenly, he saw a familiar looking young Sacaen sword fighter. He wore a headband and had his black hair in a short ponytail. The sword fighter saw Matthew and attacked him unhesitantly. Unlike the assassins, the young sword fighter was extremely agile, not slower than Matthew.

"Wait a minute!" called Matthew as he dodged the sword fighter's attacks. "I know who you are, aren't you Guy?"

The one named Guy slowed down, but did not stop attacking. "I am, so what? Who do you think you are?" he asked. Matthew smiled as he dodged Guy's attacks.

"Have you forgotten who I am?" he questioned Guy. "Have you forgotten what happened at Caelin? Who was the one who saved you?"

Guy froze. "You..." he gasped. "You're Matthew?"

Guy was a Sacaen sword fighter who had left home. Without any money, he was forced to fight for various assassin groups to feed himself. About a year ago, Guy had run out of money. Starving and delirious, he had collapsed in Caelin near where Matthew had lived. Fortunately for him, Matthew found him lying unconscious and revived him, feeding him afterwards. Before Guy could thank him, however, Matthew had disappeared as he went into Lord Uther's service.

"I heard the people of Sacae are supposed to honourable," Matthew said. "Yet you are repaying kindess with evil, how will you have the face meet your clanspeople again? You're a disgrace!"

Guy threw his sword to the ground in fury. "Hey!" he called. "I need food to feed myself, don't I? I didn't realise it was you. I just got this job, now you're telling me to throw it away!"

Matthew laughed. "Hey, you owe me your life, buddy," he reminded Guy. "Tell you what, why don't you fight for us? I'm quite sure Lord Eliwood and Lord Hector would be quite happy to pay you in return for your services. That way, you can avoid being hungry while repaying the life debt you own me." Guy considered this for a few seconds and smiled.

"Alright then," he agreed. "I never liked these guys anyway." Picking up his sword, he rushed at the enemy. When the assassin group saw him attacking them, they were bewildered.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked an assassin. "You're working for us, aren't you?" Guy raised his sword and pointed it at them.

"Hmph," he snorted. "I don't need to work for thugs like you any more. The guys you're fighting offered me a much better deal. Besides, I owe my life to one of them anyway, while I owe you nothing. Goodbye." In a flash, he decapitated the assassins head before he finished speaking.

With Guy's help, Eliwood and his friends were able to reach Boies, who was standing at the main gate of the castle.

"You've done well to reach this far, laddie!" he called. Patience running thin, Eliwood and Hector raised their weapons at him.

"Where is Marquess Santaruz?" demanded Eliwood.

Boies snickered. "I imagine he's on his way to a better place, hehehehahaha!" he replied. Eliwood's heart dropped like a stone.

"Motherfucker!" he shouted as he leapt at the armour knight and slashing wildly. Calmly, Boies blocked his blows one by one. Hector moved in to help his friend. With his offensive fighting technique, Boies found it much harder to block. Getting a bit irritated, Boies moved out of the way and kicked Hector in the stomach, causing him to double over. Calming down slightly, Eliwood focussed his attacks and continued the assault on the armour knight. After about twenty exchanges, Boies' confidence started draining away. 'This kid is good,' he thought. He started going on the offensive, but quickly realised that he played straight into Eliwood's hands. Twirling his sword around Boies' spear, he quickly disarmed the armour knight, followed by a quick stab into the fat man's neck, killing him.

Wasting no time, Eliwood and Hector ran straight into the castle. "Lord Helman!" he called. No reply came. Anxiety gripped every organ of his body. He ran through castle repeating his call. As he passed the marquess' room, he heard a moan.

"Eliwood..." it whispered quietly. "Is that you?" Shivering at how weak the voice sounded, Eliwood rushed into the room.

"Lord Helman, what happened? Hang on!" he said with an uneven voice. Lord Helman's face was pale as chalk.

"I'm... sorry, Eliwood," he wheezed. "Your father... he..." He lost consciousness. Eliwood gasped.

"Do you know something, sir? What happened?" he pleaded. Lord Helman regained consciousness after about ten seconds.

"If I hadn't told Elbert... of Darin's plans... this would never have..." he whispered as he coughed up blood. "Go to Laus... Darin... Marquess Laus... knows all. I'm sorry, Eliwood, I can't... Beware... the Black Fang..." With this, he breathed his last and expired.

"It can't be," Eliwood whispered to no-one in particular, mind a blank, anything that he was thinking was zapped away by shock.

After about ten minutes of staring into space, Eliwood finally calmed down. "Blast!" grunted Hector. "What the hell is going on?" Eliwood sighed with regret.

"We have to go to Laus immediately," he finally said. "We have to speak to Marquess Laus and get answers." Hector was itching for action.

"Let's go now," he suggested. "I'm not sure how far we can go today, but I can't sit still with everything unresolved like this." Eliwood nodded in agreement.

As they were leaving, the stern looking man ran after to them. "Lord Hector, Lord Eliwood, wait!" he called. Catching his breath, he continued: "I'm the steward of Santaruz, with our lord gone, what are supposed to do?"

Hector paused and pondered it for a second. "First, you give Lord Helman a proper burial," he ordered. "After that, I'm sure the Lycian Council will have to meet. Send word to my brother about what has happened here, but stay here and defend the castle until receive further instructions." The steward nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes sir," he replied. "May you have a safe trip, young masters." Picking up their belongings, Eliwood and Hector, along with their companions, set off for Laus.

o0o

After about four hours of travelling, it started getting dark. Deciding not to seek to much attention, Eliwood suggested that they camp about one kilometre outside a village. They had already exited Santaruz territory and had entered Caelin, the neighbouring nation.

"So this is Caelin," mused Hector as he looked around. "Do you think we'll need to present ourselves to Lord Hausen? The less attention we get the better." Eliwood shook his head.

"I don't see the need," he replied. "We're only passing through. I am quite curious on how Lyndis is doing, though..." As he saw Hector's confused look, he added: "Marquess Caelin's granddaughter". Hector slapped his own forehead as he remembered.

"Oh her," he recalled. "The missing heir who dealt with Lundgren last year, didn't you have something to do with that?" When Lyndis stopped her granduncle in the leadership dispute in the previous year, Eliwood helped make sure that Caelin's dispute was purely internal, persuading all other Lycian nations to not get involved in the affair. As a consequence, he missed his bimonthly spar with Hector by about a week, in which he was appointed to do.

"Is she a beauty?" asked Hector teasingly. Eliwood jerked his head in Hector's direction, eyes reduced to slits.

"A beauty?" he replied. "I don't know what to call her, I think it must be Sacaen heritage. She's... striking."

Laughing evilly, Hector continued teasing his friend. "Striking? Too bad we don't have time to see her, lover boy." Eliwood's face turned into a tomato.

"What? Lyndis and I... we are not..." he stammered, as Hector burst into laughter.

"You're not?" he prodded on. "Then why are you getting so worked up?"

Eliwood leapt at his best mate, trying to tackle him to the ground, while Hector jumped out of the way. "Fuck you, Hector!" he cursed loudly. "Don't make me angry!" Suddenly, their little tussle was interrupted by a frightened scream that came from about a few hundred metres away.

"Someone's being attacked," said Eliwood. "We need to go and help!" Following their lords' instructions, Marcus, Oswin and the others followed Eliwood and Hector to the direction of the scream. As they reached the source of the yell, they saw a rich looking merchant being harassed by about a dozen bandits.

"Noooooo!" yelled the merchant. "Someone help me, pleeease!"

The bandits that surrounded the merchant were like a pack of wolves around a trapped deer. "This stupid old fool kept us running in circles for hours!" growled one of the bandits. A taller man who appeared to be the leader of the bandits started playing around the man's belongings.

"Hey look at this," he snickered as he picked up an expensive looking bracelet. "This old fool is loaded." The rest of the bandits laughed heartily.

"Looks like our lucky day, hey Puzon?" smiled another bandit. The apparent leader named Puzon nodded. The merchant on the other hand, was outraged. "Let go of that!" he shouted. "That's mine!" A rather fat bandit hit him over the head, knocking to the ground.

"Shut up, you old buffoon," he growled. "Puzon, can I kill this simpleton?" Puzon looked at him with raised eyebrows. Shrugging, he replied: "Yeah, whatever, I can't see why not. Just do it quickly." Seeing as he was about to be killed, the merchant let out a horrified scream, running as fast as he could, but he had no way of escaping. Dropping to his knees, he burst into tears and begged for his life.

"Hey, release him!" ordered Eliwood. Puzon turned around to face him, while Hector raised his axe. "If you move quickly, we'll let you live," he told Puzon menacingly. However, the bandit leader was less than fazed.

"A pair of dandies like you?" he laughed. "Living off your parent's names, prancing about, this is what I think of you!" He spat on the ground in front of them. "Come on boys!" he called. "Don't hold back! Take out these stupid nobles!"

Whipping out their weapons, Eliwood and his group began to confront the bandits. Compared to the trained assailants that they fought twice that day, the bandits were amateurs. This is not mention that the group not including made up ten people, so they were not as outnumbered as they were against the assassins they fought earlier. Even though they were tired, they held a huge advantage over Puzon and his bandits, killing about half of them in about ten minutes.

"Shit!" called Puzon. "How the hell are these nobles so good? Alright, everyone, retreat! We can't win!" Turning around to Eliwood and Hector, he stuck his middle finger up at them. "I won't forget this!" he called. "I'll get my revenge, someday!" As he finished speaking, he sprinted as fast as he could away from them.

"You're not getting away, meanie!" called Rebecca as she loaded an arrow onto her bow. With a swift movement, she fired the arrow at the fleeing Puzon, piercing his skull and killing him instantly.

Seeing the lordlings chase away the bandits, the merchant was lost for words. "Are you injured?" asked Eliwood. The merchant smiled and shook his head. "Not... at all, your highness," he stammered. "I'm as fine as fine can be."

Eliwood let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to see that," he said. "We'll take our leave then. Let's go, Hector."

As he watched his saviours just turn around and leave, Merlinus felt extremely uncomfortable. "Wait a moment, please!" he called. "I haven't even thanked you for saving my life yet!" Stopping in their tracks, Eliwood and Hector turned around to face the man.

"Don't worry," dismissed Hector. "We have no use for a peddler's junk." The merchant was outraged. "A peddler? Me?" he gasped. Eliwood rammed his elbow into Hector, chastising him for being rude.

"Ahem!" coughed the merchant. "My name is Merlinus. You'll find no other travelling merchant whose goods compare with mine. Don't let your eyes fool, I'm actually quite prosperous."

This got the lordlings interested. "You're a merchant?" asked Hector with surprise. "Books and knives and all that? Ow!" Eliwood had elbowed him for being rude again. Merlinus did not seem to be too offended.

"By the way," he continued. "You two obviously come from highborn houses. Would you grant me the honour of your names?"

Eliwood replied: "I'm Eliwood, Marquess Pherae's son." Hector also introduced himself to Merlinus. Merlinus seemed delighted.

"Goodness!" he gasped. "Ostia and Pherae, the highest houses in all of Lycia! To be saved by lords such as yourselves, it is an honour beyond words!"

Hector snorted. "It's nice to be appreciated for a change, but you don't need to lick our asses like this," he smiled. "Lately, people just seem to want us dead. Tell me Merlinus, what are your plans from here-on in?"

Merlinus scratched his head. "I had planned to travel Lycia selling my merchandise," he explained. "But it may not be possible in such dangerous times." Hector nodded thoughtfully.

"If that's the case," he said. "Why don't you come along with us? Our travels aren't going to end soon, we'll gain more and more treasures as we go along, right? It might good to have someone managing our things." Merlinus jumped for joy, smiling from ear to ear.

"Hoho!" he laughed. "That is a splendid idea! Managing merchandise is my specialty!"

Eliwood was rather concerned. They were running into enough trouble as it is, dragging this rather frail merchant along was only leading him to disaster.

"Are you sure?" he asked as Merlinus nodded. "Of course, my lord," he confirmed. "To be honest, I've always dreamt of working for a noble house. To have my fondest wish granted in such a way, how could I not be happy? Lord Hector, Lord Eliwood, please take me in and keep me safe forever!" And so, Merlinus packed his belongings and followed Eliwood and Hector back to their camp.

After a few good hours of sleep, Eliwood and his group set off for Laus with apprehension.

o0o

In the castle of Marquess Laus, fear and tension gripped the atmosphere. "What?" spat Lord Darin, the marquess of Laus. "Are you certain? Pherae's heir is here?" His face was drained from a combination of late-night scheming and fear of exposure.

"Yes dad," answered a young man around the age of eighteen. It was Marquess Laus' son, Erik. "He's just beyond the big hill next to our castle. He won't be long to reach here." Lord Darin clutched his fists in fear and anger.

"Lord Ephidel!" he summoned. "What is the meaning of this? I thought you dealt with this mole already!" Ephidel seemed concerned and deep in thought as well.

"Hm," he mused. "Maybe Marquess Santaruz clung to life long enough for Eliwood and his friends to reach the castle. Maybe he held on just long enough to tell them something." Darin punched the wall. "You can't be serious!" he roared. "Our plan! It's all for naught now, isn't it?"

Ephidel was annoyed that Marquess Santaruz stayed long enough to expose Darin, but remained calm. 'I won't underestimate those rats any longer', he noted to self.

"Lord Darin," he said calmly. "There's no need to be alarmed. Even if young Eliwood knows of our schemes, Pherae no longer has any power. My master has made sure of that. All Eliwood could do is perhaps inform Marquess Ostia."

Darin shook his head. "Ostia would be ruinous," he growled. "Lord Uther may be young and new to the throne, but he's dangerous. That old bat Helman!" He slapped the table with his palm as he cursed Marquess Santaruz. "He was a coward to the very end! How could he betray us now, when we were so close? We only needed a little more time to complete our plans!"

Ephidel thought swiftly. "Then before Marquess Ostia becomes aware of any of this, you should kill them right here," he suggested. Darin weighed up his options, then nodded.

"Yes, you're right, Master Ephidel," he concurred. "We have a chance. They need to cross Laus to get to Ostia. We can still silence them! Call our finest troops! Kill them!"

Hearing his father give the orders for Eliwood and Hector's head, Erik was delighted. He used to go to school with the two lordlings, and they would always best him. Now that they were on his turf with his best troops surrounding them, his blood boiled.

"Father," he called eagerly. "Please, let me take the command." Darin turned around in surprise.

"Erik, are you sure?" he asked disbelievingly. Erik smiled mischievously.

"That clod Eliwood and I studied together in Ostia. He trusts people way too easily. When he sees me, he will lower his guard. When he does, we will kill him!"

Darin snickered. "That sounds like a good plan," he agreed. Ephidel, on the other hand, was apprehensive. He did not want to trust the boy. He had watched the boy practise his using spear, and thought that he was average at best. While Erik was indeed leading a rather considerable portion of the Laus army, he did not want to underestimate Eliwood and Hector any more.

"I beg your pardon, Lord Darin," he interrupted. "Are you sure that this isn't too much for him? If, by some unlucky chance that he fell, it would set you back a long way." Darin weighed up the risk versus the reward. 'Surely the chances of losing are negligible,' he thought.

"It should be fine, Master Ephidel," he finally replied. "While I know I am his father, Erik is quite clever. Snuffing out Pherae's little whelp should be no trouble at all." 'Which is precisely the reason you're blind to your son's incompetence', thought Ephidel with contempt.

"It's settled!" continued Darin happily. "It's up to you now, Erik, bring me the head of Pherae's young son!" Erik nodded his acknowledgement and set off to put on his military gear. 'This time, Eliwood, we'll see who is better. You will taste my lance!' he thought, licking his lips.

o0o

Making their way into Laus in two days of travel, Eliwood and Hector noticed a stark difference between it and Caelin. Trees and villages were burnt to the ground and were replaced with battle towers, stables and barracks.

"Look at all this," mumbled Hector. "They really are preparing for battle. What the hell is Marquess Laus scheming?" Turning around, he saw Eliwood wearing an anxious expression.

"You don't look like you want to go to the castle very much," he noticed.

Eliwood sighed. "If we want to find the truth, we might have to go to war," he commented. As someone who loved fighting, Hector did not mind having to go to war. Eliwood, on the other hand, hated fighting. He imagined the countless families who would be torn apart, simply because of the games that nobles played with each other. He only wished that conflicts could be resolved peacefully.

"Lord Eliwood!" Marcus called suddenly. "A knight has ridden forth from the castle!" Eliwood turned around to look to the horizon. Indeed, there were two black dots, a man and a horse, coming their way.

"Our scouts say it's Marquess Laus' son, Erik," reported Marcus.

Hector spat at the ground. "Bah! Why did it have to be that buffoon?" he cursed. "I'm leaving, Eliwood, that guy is a total fool. I'm going to go for a ride and survey our surroundings." Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement while telling Marcus to bring Erik to them.

"Hello, Eliwood!" called Erik. "It's been a long time!" Seeing Erik's welcoming expression, Eliwood suddenly tensed up. He had never been on good terms with Marquess Laus' son. Why then, would he act so friendly to him?

"Erik," he returned the greeting with a nod. "What is your business?" Erik was taken aback by surprise.

"My business?" he asked innocently. "Whatever do you mean? I heard that my old friend was here in Laus. I merely thought I'd ride out to greet you. So tell me, what brings you to our humble home of Laus? Are you on your way to Ostia?" Eliwood was not sure what Erik's plan was. While he did not like Erik, he was still his classmate and he wanted to avoid confrontation if possible.

"Why do you think that?" asked Eliwood, trying to extend the conversation and probe Erik's motives.

"Well, you were always such good friends with Hector," Erik continued, trying not to betray his intentions. "He and I never got along well. For a noble, his behaviour and manner of speech was crude, you would have thought he was a peasant at first glance. You're still friends with Hector, aren't you? When did you see him last? How do you communicate with him?"

Eliwood was getting suspicious of why Erik kept talking about Hector. "Erik..." he said after a few seconds of pause. "You're after something, aren't you? Everywhere I look, Laus is preparing for battle. What are you and you father planning? I will know the truth!" Erik felt a bit uncomfortable after being confronted like this, but recovered quickly. After all, he was the one who had Eliwood at his mercy.

"Hm, I had hoped to wait until you told me of Ostia, of whether you have spoken to the marquess or not," he snickered, as Eliwood shot him a confused look. "Hehehe, Eliwood, I have always hated you. You and Hector, always getting our teachers' praise, while I got thrown to the dust like an animal. Oh, how I've longed to smash you and your morality to pieces! I've dreamt so long for this day, and here it is at last!" He held his head high into the air and laughed.

Suddenly, a huge mound of dirt landed on Erik's back. "Too bad you won't live to see the end of it," growled a voice from behind him. Hector was marching towards him, eyes filled with hate.

"You!" roared Erik. Turning around to Eliwood, he suddenly looked scared. "You couldn't... have you spoken with Ostia already?"

Hector snorted with contempt. "Maybe we have, maybe we haven't," he replied. Turning to Eliwood, he spoke: "Eliwood, this mongrel has troops lying in ambush all around us. Laus old-timers, every one of them. We're in for one hell of a fight." Hearing Hector's warning, Erik remembered his reinforcements and regained his composure.

"That's right," he sneered. "There's little point in fighting. You're trapped! My forces will overwhelm you in a never-ending torrent of soldiers! Laus' elite knights are here as well. How long do you think you can last?" Laughing, Erik rode away back to the castle as his troops mobilised. Seeing his classmate's betrayal, Eliwood could only feel anger and a twinge of humiliation. "Craven cur!" he cursed.

Although Santaruz had sent a squad of around a hundred troops to protect Eliwood after their lord's death, the Laus army easily outnumbered them at least five to one.

"What the hell do we do?" Eliwood asked Marcus. 'What _can_ we do?' thought Marcus. Without an answer, he raised his spear and directed it at the enemy.

"We are knights of Pherae," he declared. "These mice of Laus will never defeat us, their numbers are meaningless! Come on, Lord Eliwood, let's show them what we're made of!" Inspired by Marcus' call, Eliwood raised his sword and directed his troops.

"Alright, everyone!" he called. "We need to stick together! Hold onto defensive formations, but make sure to move forward! The only way to win this battle is to capture their leader, Erik!" The rest of the troops cheered as they moved forward to confront the Laus troops. At the side, Merlinus had set up a tent next to them, where he kept all the items that Eliwood and his friends used. Bartre and Rebecca were assigned to protect him.

In a village near the fighting, a purple-haired mage watched the battle unfold. Next to him, stood the village magistrate.

"Do you think we should help?" he asked courteously. The magistrate shook his head.

"As much as I hate Marquess Laus, it's just not possible," he sighed sadly. "My granddaughter was taken away by him, after all. While I would be glad to help you, I must consider the safety of the villagers. If we disobey the marquess and we end up losing, what would happen to us? I'm sorry, Sir Erk."

The one named Erk nodded in acknowledgement. "I understand. We'll seek our aid elsewhere," he said resolutely.

The magistrate shook his head again. "You'll find the same answer everywhere you go. Eventually, you'll have to do as the marquess orders. You would do well to tell your master the same thing."

Erk snorted. 'Coward,' he thought. 'Lord Pent would never except that. I should probably just join the ones that the army is attacking, we may find a way out.' Turning around to the magistrate, he bid his farewell.

While Eliwood and his troops were heavily outnumbered, they were fortunately helped by numerous incompetent Laus fighters. Although Marquess Laus was preparing for war, most of his troops were pulled from the ordinary people. Most of the soldiers were untrained, just given a spear and told to march to their deaths. Erik was also inexperienced in battle, so he did not give strategic commands. Using this to their advantage, Eliwood and his troops held their ground reasonably well. Suddenly, bolts of lightning flashed across the plains, knocking out numerous Laus soldiers. Looking around, Eliwood saw a serious, purple haired mage firing his magic at the Laus fighters while running towards him.

"Lord Eliwood, is it?" called Erk.

Eliwood nodded. "What is your honoured name, sir?" he asked.

Making it to their group, Erk replied: "No need for semantics with me, my lord, I'm Erk. I am here to escort someone back home, but Marquess Laus decided to trap her in the harbourside village. I was hoping I could join you to try and get her out of here."

Eliwood pondered for a second. "Yes, why not?" he finally replied. "Any help for us would greatly appreciated." Suddenly, from behind, a high pitched scream was heard.

"OH MI GOSH, ERK!" screeched Serra as she jumped onto Erk, hugging him. "It's been so looooong!" Erk's face turned bright red.

"Serra?" he asked, surprised. 'Oh lord, I thought I had finally gotten rid of her already. Why is she here?'

A year ago, Erk was charged with the task of escorting Serra to Ostia. However, they were ambushed by bandits and were subsequently saved by Lyn, who was on her way to Caelin to reunite with her grandfather. Joining Lyndis' Legion, they fought alongside her to reclaim Caelin from Lundgren. Serra's inability to shut up had driven Erk up the wall, and when he had completed his task of getting her to Ostia, he felt like a prisoner who was just let out of jail. He never expected that he would have go through that hell again.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, holding back his urge to vomit. Serra smiled at him and slapped him on the back.

"I'm working for Lord Eliwood and Lord Hector," she replied. 'What did I do to deserve this', thought Erk. Hiding his annoyance, he ran off and attacked the enemy, leaving behind a very irritated Serra. "He didn't even speak to me, how rude!" she mouthed angrily.

In the harbourside village that Erk mentioned, a beautiful red-haired girl stood waiting at the gates.

"Priscilla!" called the main village prefect. "Has your escort arrived yet?" The girl named Priscilla turned around and shook her head.

"No," she replied sadly. "He left yesterday to search for a way out of here, I just hope that the Laus soldiers haven't captured him." The prefect sighed.

"His search must have been fruitless then," he lamented. "Marquess Laus had ordered that you are to be given no aid. There's really nothing any of us can do, I'm sorry." Priscilla shook her head.

"No, sir," she sighed. "Please don't apologise for my sake. I'm grateful that you continue to grant me asylum when you can easily hand me over to the marquess. Of course, if I simply went over to the castle and handed myself over, all of this will be over."

The prefect smiled at her. "Don't worry about that," he assured her. "None of us here like the marquess. He's just a lecherous old bastard. He threatens us and treats us like slaves. You see all these war preparations? We want nothing to do with them. We may be divided into territories, but we're all Lycians. Why does he want to start a war at home? None of this makes sense."

Priscilla was born into the House of Cornwell, a previous member of the Lycian League. Before Lord Uther became the marquess of Ostia, House Ostia had been corrupt. Wanting the destruction of House Cornwell, they accused the House of corruption, which triggered the rest of the Lycian nations to completely destroy it. To protect her, her parents adopted her to Count Caerleon of Etruria, Etruria being another country on the continent of Elibe. After hearing that her brother had possibly survived the destruction, she ventured with Erk to Lycia to try and find him. However, Lord Darin learnt about her and wanted to marry her. When Priscilla declined, Darin imprisoned her in Laus until she agrees to marry him. Erk had set off the day before to try and find help, but he had not returned.

Suddenly, panic tore through the village as bandits started marching in. Seeing that the Laus soldiers battle Eliwood and his troops, they decided to use the chaos to their advantage, pillaging villages and picking up the spoils of war. The villagers tried hard to defend their village, but after preparing for war, Marquess Laus left virtually nothing for his people. All hope seemed lost for the village when sky-blue bolts of lightning struck the bandits one by one, stunning them for the villagers to kill off.

"Lady Priscilla, are you alright?" called Erk. Before Priscilla could ask him anything, he explained: "I've joined Lord Eliwood's group and we are fighting against the Laus soldiers! This might be the best opportunity for you to escape!" Nodding in acknowledgement, Priscilla quickly followed Erk out of the village, thanking the prefect as she left.

Meanwhile, the battle between Eliwood's troops and the Laus army was grinding to frightening climax. Neither side was gaining any more ground than the other.

"Blast!" called Erik. "They're stronger than I expected! I want all the reinforcements available, and I want them now!" A soldier hurried off to report the news to Darin.

"What?" exclaimed Darin as he heard the news. "How are they still holding on? Ready the men." 'Why am I not surprised?' thought Ephidel, shaking his head.

"Unbelievable," he hissed with contempt. "These numbers cannot stop them." Swishing his cloak he turned to leave.

"It seems that conquering Lycia might have been too much for you after all," he added. "I must inform my master. The Black Fang will be leaving at once." Darin was gobsmacked.

"No!" he cried. "You... you can't abandon us, not at this stage!" Ephidel's eyes were reduced to slits. "Who was it that said Ostia must not learn of our plans?" he growled. "Wasn't it you, Lord Darin? The marquess of Laus himself? Look! The younger brother of Marquess Ostia is outside with Eliwood right now! Yet, you can't even take him out. I have no use for such an incompetent fool!"

Darin dropped to his knees. His entire plan depended on this man. "No, Master Ephidel," he begged. "Please! Just one more chance, I will not fail Lord Nergal!" Sighing in disdain, Ephidel turned around.

"Fine," he agreed. "Assemble your men, Lord Darin, we will regroup elsewhere." Darin could not believe his ears. "You don't mean..." he gasped. "My son, my home, am I to abandon them all?" "Would you fall in disgrace along with your son?" retorted Ephidel. "My master Lord Nergal is offering you the throne of all of Lycia, surely a few sacrifices are not too much to ask?" Darin dropped in head and weighed up his options. "You're right," he finally conceded. "My destiny is greater than this. I was born to be the king of Lycia!" Taking his elite troops, he left Castle Laus and marched away, leaving his son to battle Eliwood and Hector alone.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3: The Cold, Bright Rays of the Mani Katti_

The tide of the battle between the Laus army and Eliwood's troops was starting to turn in Eliwood's favour. Tired and miserable, the Laus troops were starting to give up, allowing Eliwood the upper hand. "Where are my reinforcements?" wondered Erik. "Why haven't they come? I have no choice but to attack!" Raising his lance, he charged his horse toward the enemy.

Seeing Erik charge at them, Eliwood and Hector were surprised. 'What an amateur move,' thought Hector. 'He's charging at us blindly when he could easily wait it out. We're trying to capture him and now he's just giving himself to us.' Laughing, he picked up a fallen axe and threw it at Erik's horse. As the axe hit the horse in the chest, it let out an agonised neigh and fell to the ground, jolting Erik over the top of its head. Flying about five metres forward, he landed on the ground with a loud thud, fracturing his left forearm. Smiling, Hector marched up to the defeated lordling and held him up by the collar, displaying him for all Laus soldiers to see.

The Laus soldiers immediately froze as their commander was captured. A mixture relief and humiliation washed over them. Some were relieved that they did not have to fight any more, while the others were ashamed at how their commander was captured so easily, by a contingency of forces several times smaller than their own.

"Unhand me, you dogs!" cursed Erik. "I'm no-one's prisoner! You... you peasants! You can't treat a noble like this!" Hector punched him in the stomach and then spat at him.

"It's too late for niceties, cur!" he shouted angrily. "Be thankful you're still alive!" Erik's eyes were filled with hatred.

As Laus' army was defeated, Eliwood immediately went into Laus castle to look for the marquess. After about fifteen minutes of searching, it was concluded that Darin was no longer present. The castle was completely deserted, save for a few servants who stayed behind to maintain the place. Running outside, Eliwood saw Erik and Hector still arguing.

"You've always been an eyesore to me," sighed Erik. "No matter how hard I tried, you two received all the praise, in the classroom and in the training ground, everywhere and everything!"

Hector snorted in contempt. "Erik, you've always cared more about appearances than ability," he said bluntly as he rolled his eyes. "If you had any talent, or even any hint of skill, perhaps you and Laus would be more respected!" Erik flushed in anger.

"Fuck you!" he cursed. "I'll hear no more!" Hector pushed him over and stepped on his chest.

"Damn fool," he growled with malice. "You're in defeat, and you still curse me? You surely don't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is." He pushed his leg down with force, eliciting a few painful grunts from the Erik. Seeing Erik get tortured by Hector, Eliwood was alarmed.

"Hector!" he called. "We don't need to go this far." Turning to Erik as Hector released him reluctantly, he asked: "Erik, where is your father? We've searched the entire castle and there's no-one there."

Erik stood up in shock. "Don't be ridiculous!" he gasped. "My father would never abandon me... Wait! Ephidel, he must have!"

Hearing the name, Eliwood and Hector looked at each other in confusion. "Who the hell is Ephidel?" growled Hector as he grabbed Erik by the collar. "Speak now!"

"Hector!" called Eliwood. "This is possibly our best lead now, don't hurt him, otherwise you'll probably ruin this great opportunity. Erik, please. You must tell us everything you know. I only want to know where my father is."

Upset that his father had abandoned him, Erik felt there was no reason to hide anything. "Ephidel is this really creepy man," he explained. "He appeared at the castle around a year ago. He came and offered my father something, and he changed. My father had always despised the position Ostia had, and had always believed that Laus deserved to rule over Lycia, but he had never gone so far as to speak of rebellion." Eliwood and Hector looked at each other with surprise and confusion.

"My father then sent envoys to several other marquesses," he continued. "Marquess Pherae was one of them who had approved."

Eliwood felt as if he had just been stabbed. "Never!" he shouted in indignation. "My father would never agree to such a thing!" Erik shrugged.

"Believing me is up to you," he went on. "First, Marquess Santaruz agreed, then Marquess Pherae's reply arrived. He visited six months ago to seal his approval. My father and yours argued furiously that day. Lord Elbert had always distrusted Ephidel. He tried to convince my father to have Ephidel and the Black Fang assassins sent out of Lycia. My father was deaf to his pleas, and Marquess Pherae left. As you know, he then disappeared, I doubt he's still alive." Hector punched him to the ground.

"Say that again, I dare you!" he yelled. Erik was unfazed. "I'm only telling you what I know," he shrugged. "My father is Ephidel's puppet. He'll listen to anything that villain says, even abandon his own son. Those are the sort of people you're dealing with. Marquess Pherae had betrayed him, and they will not let him live, heh."

At this, Eliwood let out a long scream of despair and ran away, without knowing where he was going. Hector was about to follow when Oswin, who had heard everything that Erik had said, interrupted him.

"Lord Hector, let us return to Ostia," Oswin urged. "I cannot approve of helping Lord Eliwood or Pherae any longer." Hector slowly turned his head, eyes reduced to slits.

"What are you saying, Oswin?" he asked with danger in his voice. Sensing Hector's anger just about to tip, Oswin tried to stay calm.

"We must think of Ostia's well being. If Marquess Pherae was involved in a rebellion, then why-" Hector cut him off by stamping his foot on the ground.

"Oswin, you will take back those words," he ordered with finality. "I know Eliwood's father very well. I guarantee you that he is man worthy of our trust. Heed my words. You are my brother's vassal. If you think that your duties to guard are second to those of Ostia's best interest, then return to Ostia. You've done your duty, thank you." He pointed in the direction with pursed lips as he finished speaking. Seeing Hector's reaction, Oswin felt guilt well up inside him. Bending down to one knee, he raised his lance to Hector.

"My remarks about Marquess Pherae were improper," he apologised. "I'm sorry." Seeing Oswin's reaction, Hector was surprised.

"What are you doing, Oswin?" he gasped. "Stop, you don't need to bend your knee to me!" Oswin smiled.

"My lord, I wish to offer my service to you," he told Hector. "Please accept my lance as your own, then return it with your blessings. I am a knight in service to Castle Ostia. Until now, I have only offered my lance to Lord Uther, but now I wish to offer you that same service. Please grant me that honour." Overcome by Oswin's devotion, Hector smiled and accepted.

Eliwood was looking into the distance, his mind in chaos. He could not believe that his father, the one person he looked up to the most, would support a rebellion against their closest ally. His father was a man of honour, one who helps out the innocent and the downtrodden. Taking part in a rebellion against his friend in secret is completely out of his character. Then he remembered how Erik mentioned that his father and Marquess Laus had argued the day they met. Maybe his father was conned by Marquess Laus into rebelling against Ostia, but realised his mistake afterwards? As he tossed around his thoughts, he was approached by Hector.

"My father is alive," he sighed. "But I cannot believe that he supports rebellion. There has to be a reason..." Hector nodded in agreement.

"I don't believe any of this bullshit that Erik is spouting," he growled. "If it were up to me, I would kill him right now. My brother trusted your father more than anyone else. Firstly, we'll find your father, then we'll speak to my brother about this." Grateful to Hector's faith and friendship, he could only feel apologetic.

"I'm sorry to get you involved like this, Hector," he muttered. "Marquess Laus, Black Fang assassins, now this mysterious Ephidel character, I'll find them all to prove my father's innocence!"

o0o

Five days had passed since Marquess Santaruz's death. Eliwood and Hector had decided to chase after Marquess Laus, but they had no idea where he had went. Sending out a few spies, Hector decided it was best to stay in Laus castle and wait for information first, then chase after the fleeing Darin. As for Erik, they just left him to his own room.

"Hector," Eliwood said after approaching Hector one day. "I've been thinking about something. The death of Marquess Santaruz and our attack on Laus, word of these things must have reached Lord Uther by now. Why hasn't he shown any sign of action yet?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons," replied Hector. "My brother has other concerns on his mind now." Seeing Eliwood's confused reaction, Hector continued.

"Bern is looking dangerous at the moment," he explained. "We've received disturbing reports over the past few months. King Desmond is behaving oddly. If he sees even the slightest crack in Lycia's defenses, we believe he'll invade with all of Bern's might behind him. My brother just became the head of the Lycian League, and cannot allow another country to see any weakness or discord. It seems that every country has a spy working in Ostia right now. They all want to assess the new marquess's temperament and skill. If they sense anything strange or weak about him, word will spread like wildfire."

Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "You're the marquess's brother..." he pondered. "Would not being at his side be seen as something 'wrong'?"

Hector laughed. "The marquess's brother is a well-known lout," he smiled. "If I _were_ at court, they'd sense something wrong."

Without warning, Marcus rushed into the castle. "Lord Eliwood, Lord Hector!" he called. "I bring a report! Castle Caelin has fallen to a surprise attack from Marquess Laus!" Terror ran through Eliwood, while genuine surprise hit Hector.

"Is Lord Hausen unharmed?" asked Eliwood. Marcus shook his head. "We have no word on the condition of Lord Hausen or his granddaughter, the lady Lyndis." Fear and anxiety gripped Eliwood's heart like two iron gloves.

"We must go and help them, right away! Come on!" Within two minutes, the army was up and ready to go. Leaving Erik behind at Castle Laus to nurse his injury, they headed straight for Caelin without hesitation.

o0o

In the nearby nation of Caelin, a young woman in an oriental-style dress was waiting in the woods.

"Milady Lyndis, I have returned!" called a cavalier in red as he approached her. "Laus soldiers are everywhere from the castle to this forest. There are fifty soldiers at the very least." A green cavalier next to her nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure about this, milady?" he asked. "We barely escaped. Going back to the castle would mean almost certain death." Lyn was lost at what to do.

"Kent, Sain," she called the red and green cavaliers, respectively. Kent and Sain were training partners who had become best friends. Kent was a rather reserved man who put duty ahead of everything else, while Sain was a scoundrel. "I understand your concerns, but my grandfather is in the castle. I left the castle on his orders, but I can't leave him there alone!" Next to them, stood an archer, whose name was Wil.

"The numbers we face are next to impossible," he noted. "Even if we had a dozen more Caelin troops along with us, we'd still lose." The situation looked bleak for them. Suddenly, Kent came up with something.

"I heard some of the Laus soldiers talking within themselves," he noted. "They claim that Lord Eliwood invaded Laus and drove them out." Lyn raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"It gets even more interesting," Kent continued. "Not only did Marquess Laus abandon his castle and homeland, he also left behind his son, Erik, as he fled here." The green armoured cavalier named Sain spat on the ground.

"What a despicable tosspot!" he cursed. "How could you abandon your own son?"

Lyn paced around thoughtfully. "At least we know Eliwood is in Laus," she pondered. "Assuming that there's a way to contact him, we might be able to ask for his help."

"If we are to avoid being caught, the best path is through this forest," suggested Wil. "Shall I go, Lady Lyndis?" Lyn weighed up her options.

"You're right," she conceded. "Horses cannot move well in the woods. It'll take a while, though..." Suddenly, a girl with curly, orchid hair put her hand up.

"Lady Lyndis!" she called. "I'll go! My pegasus can fly above the forest, I can get to Laus faster than anyone else." Lyn opened her eyes wide.

"Florina?" she gasped. "You can't do this on your own, it's too dangerous!" Florina was a young, androphobic pegasus knight from Ilia. Like many girls in Ilia, Florina was sent out as a mercenary to fight on the back of pegasi, or winged horses. However, Florina was a rather shy girl, especially around men. Lyn had saved her a few times, and thus was her best friend. After Lyn saved her from a gang of bandits a year ago, Florina joined Lyndis' Legion and helped the young noble break Lundgren's scheme and reunite with her grandfather. Although still rather shy, Florina had matured after a year of service to House Caelin and became more confident around men and other people in general. Smiling, she signalled for Lyn not to worry.

"It will be okay," she assured her friend. "I promised myself that I would become more courageous than you, Lyndis. I'm not the weak little Florina I used to be. I'll be fine, trust me." Lyn seemed rather taken aback back Florina's forcefulness. 'She has really grown up', she thought.

"Okay, you've convinced me, Florina," she conceded. "The job's yours, but you must promise me that you won't try anything impossible!" Florina nodded in acknowledgement, mounted her pegasus and flew off into the distance, leaving a proud Lyn and her guard in her wake.

o0o

As Florina flew into the air, she was immediately spotted by Laus soldiers.

"Commander Bauker!" called a soldier. "There's something in the southern skies." The commander named Bauker cupped his hands to his eyes, and indeed, he saw Florina fly north toward Laus.

"Where do you think that pegasus knight is going?" he muttered irritably. "It doesn't matter, we've been ordered to not let anyone out of Caelin. Archers!" he called. "Bring her down, now!"

Florina was flying in a northerly direction when she suddenly heard arrows flying after her. "Holy shit!" she called as her pegasus, Huey, started to spinning and dodging the arrows. As the g-forces of spinning was about to make her throw up, Florina suddenly saw a contingency of about eighty soldiers approach Caelin castle. 'Who are those people?' she thought in alarm. 'They aren't attacking me, are they here to help? Wait!' Flying a bit lower so she could see, she gasped in relief. 'That man in the lead, it's Lord Eliwood! How wonderful! I have to tell him where Lady Lyndis is waiting!'

As Eliwood and his group approached Castle Caelin, they saw a devastation wrecked by the Laus soldiers first hand. Villages were destroyed and dead soldiers lay everywhere. The post-battle stench made them want to tear their noses off. Suddenly, Hector stopped was looking into the sky. "Lord Eliwood, look, it's a pegasus knight!" Marcus called as he, too, noticed what was happening. Florina was spinning and rotating profusely around in the air as arrows followed her.

"Lord Eliwood!" called Florina loudly. "I'm Lady Lyndis' messenger!" Eliwood opened his mouth with surprise.

"Could it be... Florina, it's you!" he called. He then turned to her state of danger and instinctively told her to fly lower. Florina did as she was told, but the few seconds of distraction was enough for her and her pegasus to lose balance in the air, and immediately started to lose ground and twirl into toward the ground.

"Aarrrgghh!" she called as the ground started to spiral toward her. Hitting the ground on top of her pegasus, Florina lost consciousness upon impact.

After being out cold for about ten seconds, Florina woke when a gruffy voice was cursing underneath her.

"Get _off_ me, you animal!" called Hector as he tried to move her pegasus off him. As Florina and her pegasus landed, they unluckily landed right on top of Hector, who was too bulky to jump out of the way. After a few seconds of struggling, he was finally able to pull himself from under the winged horse and stumbled around disorientedly. Patting her softly on the face, Eliwood tried to revive Florina.

"Can you hear me, Florina?" he asked. Smiling with relief as she opened her eyes, he sternly told her: "You were almost killed by those archers. You avoided the arrows, but you lost your balance." Florina immediately felt guilty and shy when chastised by Eliwood like this.

"I'm sorry I'm such trouble," she apologised. Eliwood smiled with care.

"I'm glad you're not hurt," he assured her. "Tell me, Florina, weren't you with Lyndis?" Hearing Lyn's name, Florina suddenly remembered why she was there.

"Yes!" replied Florina. "Lady Lyndis is just beyond that forest. She's waiting for a chance to assault and take back the castle." Eliwood sent his face into his hand and shook his head.

"She's what?" he gasped in incredulity. "Typical Lyndis... Still, it's good to hear that she's safe." Florina nodded.

"Lady Lyndis is fine," she told him. "However, Lord Hausen has been captured. He's still in the castle. Lady Lyndis heard that you took Laus, so she sent me to see if you can offer some support." Eliwood smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"That's what we came here to do, Florina," he said. "Let's go! We'll be moving towards the castle, tell Lyndis to rendezvous and join forces with us in front of the castle!" With this, Eliwood and the others charged toward Castle Caelin to assault the Laus army.

The commander of the Laus army, Bauker, saw that his troops were under attack from Eliwood. "Eliwood of Pherae... He's here, eh?" he mused. "This is our chance to show Marquess Laus our loyalty, men! Our enemies are a motley band of fools! They are no match for us, charge!" The two armies clashed together with a bang. Eliwood's troops were outnumbered about two to one, and unlike in Laus, the troops who served under Bauker were much more disciplined and much more capable. Sensing that their fight was not going to be easy at all, Eliwood signalled for his troops to scour the forest, using the trees as shelter. Moving towards the castle while hugging the forest, Eliwood and his troops slowly made progressed. Now with a mage, Erk, on their side, they were able to take out soldiers in armour more easily. His thunder magic severely crippled any soldier dressed in metal armour, allowing the melee units to finish them off. As they reached the castle, they saw a young woman, her two knights, a pegasus knight and an archer, holding off a considerably larger force. It was Lyn, Sain, Kent, Florina and Wil.

"Lyndis, we're coming!" called Eliwood. Turning around and seeing the young lordling, Lyn was beyond relief.

"Quick, Eliwood!" she called. "Help me take the enemies on the left, I'll take care of the right!" Moving to the right, she twirled her sword in a blur, the thin, albeit sharp sword becoming like a wall. Lyn's sword was the Mani Katti, a spirit-imbued sword that she had claimed while in Sacae. Even without the power of the spirits that lay in the it, the Mani Katti was extremely sharp. Any metal that was not properly refined like the Laus' soldiers' swords and shields would immediately be bent under the power of the sword, if not shattered cleanly in two. Sword swishing down one after the other, the Mani Katti's slashes were like bolts of lightning, felling one soldier after another. She would switch between stances in the blink of an eye, from 'Wind Blowing on the Grass', which was sweeping slash, to the spinning 'Open Tornado', then a stab followed by a slash, called the 'Spirit Stance'. When she was alone with Florina, Wil, Sain and Kent, Lyn was just far too outnumbered to gone on the offensive, but since Eliwood's arrival, she knew the numbers were brought back in balance enough for her to start attacking the enemy.

As they were fighting the Laus soldiers, Hector and Eliwood saw Lyn's swordplay as their hearts pounded in awe. 'So this is the speed and ferocity of Sacaen swordplay', they marvelled. While Hector's style was full of power and Eliwood's of elegance and defence, Lyn's style was like the wind. The Mani Katti seemed everywhere at once, it seemed almost impossible to defend against. Suddenly, a gasp was heard from Lyn as she shifted to the right, dodging a spear that was thrown at her.

"Impressive, girl!" called Bauker. "Today I have had an eye-opener to some Sacaen swordplay! Come, show me, Bauker of Laus, some more!" Lifting his lance, he charged at Lyn.

Although Bauker seemed slow and sluggish compared to the nimble Lyn, his reflexes were phenomenal. Even though the Mani Katti was moving extremely quickly, he was able to follow the path of the sword and respond to everyone of her assaults. Due to her rapid movements, Lyn was quickly out of breath, while Bauker was slow and steady. Seeing his friend in trouble, Eliwood rushed forward to help while Hector followed.

"Are you an ally, too?" asked Lyn. Hector creased his eyebrows and replied irritably: "Of course I am, name's Hector." Holding his axe tightly, he began his assault on Bauker.

With Eliwood's defensive stances, Hector's pure power and Lyn's agility, Bauker was forced to retreat. Seeing their commander in trouble, three highly trained Laus soldiers joined in the fight to support Bauker.

"Eliwood, Hector," Lyn called. "Let me take care of these guys, you stay on the commander!" Suddenly, she fell back to fight the three soldiers. With blinding speed, Lyn and the Mani Katti swept through the reinforcements, and while she could not kill them, she distracted them long enough for Eliwood and Hector to put Bauker on the back foot. While Bauker could defend against Lyn's fast attacks, he could not do the same against Hector's sheer power. As he tried to dodge and counter-attack, he found his lance immediately swept to the side by Eliwood's sword. Within fifty exchanges, Hector' axe had broken Bauker's spear and cleaved into his armour, severely injuring him the chest. 'What a shame, such powerful foes,' were Bauker's final thoughts as he fell over and died.

Seeing their commander fall, the Laus soldiers surrendered almost immediately. "Commander Bauker was a fierce enemy," mused Eliwood. "Lyndis, once we have defeated the enemies in the castle, the castle is yours. This is our fault for driving Marquess Laus out of his castle, I'm sorry about that." Lyn could only smile in appreciation.

"Thank you, Eliwood," she said gratefully while bowing to the redhead. "If you didn't come and help, I don't where I would be right now. You explained your motives to me already, this is about your father. I would do the same thing if I were in your position. What happened in Caelin is not your fault." Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thank you," he concurred. "However, until the castle is yours again, I'll take responsibility for what happens in Caelin and give you whatever compensation that you need. Oh yes, let me introduce you to my friend. Hector!" As Hector approached, Eliwood extended out his hand to both of them.

"Hector, this Lyndis," he introduced. "She's Lord Hausen's granddaughter. Lyndis, this is Hector, he's Lord Uther's brother." Lyn was surprised. She thought Hector looked like a lordling, but did not know that he could be the brother of the leader of the Lycia Alliance.

"His brother? Really?" she gasped.

Hector smiled coolly. "Yep," he replied. "I'm nothing like him, though, so don't put me in such a pedestal as you put him in." Eyes reducing to slits, he teased: "I can see why Eliwood would be smitten with you." Eliwood punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over.

"Pay this oaf no mind, Lyndis," growled Eliwood. "He's like that to everybody." Lyn was about to react angrily, but Eliwood's words calmed her down significantly.

"I was watching the way he fights," she noted. "He's not like you, Eliwood. He relies so much on power. It's like he's never been taught how to fight." Hector replied by saying that he taught himself how to fight as he recovered from Eliwood's gut punch.

"I have no issue with that," continued Lyn. "It's just the way you swing that axe around, you can be a huge threat to your allies and you should be more careful." Hector raised his eyebrow.

"What?" he stammered. Seeing that she had offended him, Lyn quickly apologised.

"Sorry, I didn't intend to be so critical," she muttered quietly. Hearing Lyn's concerns, Eliwood stepped into the conversation.

"There's no-one I depend on more, Lyndis," he assured her. "He's always aware of his surroundings. Once you fight alongside Hector, you'll understand." Hector snorted.

"The more you praise me, the less worthy I sound," he said coolly. "Let's go inside the castle, shall we?" Finally, there was something all three of them could agree on.

Inside Castle Caelin, Darin was shaking in fear.

"Ridiculous!" he growled. "Even Bauker fell?" An elderly man next to him sighed. He was Lord Hausen, the Marquess of Caelin and Lyn's grandfather.

"Lord Darin," he pleaded. "It is time to give up this madness. Further resistance is meaningless. You may never be forgiven for what you have done, but it is never too late to try and redeem yourself. Tell Eliwood everything, and he'll intervene with Marquess Ostia on your behalf." Looking rather remorseful, Darin nodded in agreement.

"Hurry, Eliwood will be here very soon," Lord Hausen continued. "Let me speak for you."

Suddenly, a claw penetrated Lord Hausen's back through his right kidney, causing a loud scream of agony.

"None of that now, Marquess Laus needs no such advice," hissed Ephidel as he suddenly appeared from behind Lord Hausen. Brushing Loud Hausen's body away, Ephidel turned to Darin.

"There's no turning back for you now, Lord Darin," he declared. "You should know that. First, Marquess Santaruz, now Marquess Caelin. Both deaths are on your head." Darin was outraged.

"What?" he spluttered. "It was by your hand that they both died! I never asked you to kill them!" Ephidel smiled.

"Yes, Lord Darin, I killed them for you," he said. "I follow my master's orders. My only wish is to deliver your dreams to you. The crown of a united Lycia, and once that is done, didn't you want to conquer the entire continent? Isn't that what you desire?"

Darin paused and thought about it. Giving into his desires, he replied: "Yes, yes, of course. That dream _is_ still worth some sacrifices, isn't it?" Ephidel laughed inside.

"Of course," he continued seductively. "Our plans may have deviated slightly, but as long as we have my master's power behind us, we cannot lose. It would be best if we left now, before those meddlesome kids arrive. You will leave everyone from Laus behind to delay our enemies." Darin was shocked.

"I even need to abandon my soldiers?" he gasped. "Who will protect me?"

"The Black Fang and I will more than suffice for that task," assured Ephidel. "There is nothing else you need." Feeling reassured, Darin nodded in approval.

"I see, Master Ephidel," he acknowledged. "Where do we go from here?" Ephidel smiled mysteriously.

"To the Dragon's Gate," he replied. "Our master awaits us there. He has informed me that our hostage may be all we need. If all goes well, we may be able to perform the ceremony with him alone. Now please, Lord Darin," he then directed. "Begin your retreat. You only need to follow two or three more orders from me, then I'll be right behind you." Darin smiled and nodded in agreement, and disappeared.

As he watched Darin make his retreat, Ephidel could only feel nauseous in contempt. "Whatever a pathetic retard," he muttered to himself. He turned to the injured Lord Hausen, who lay on the ground, breathing erratically. "Oh well, I need to clear up this mess. Leila, where are you?" A red-haired girl with a long fringe appeared.

"You called, Lord Ephidel?" she answered. Ephidel nodded and ordered: "I want you to finish off Marquess Caelin while that little runt Eliwood is distracted and hide the body. The enemy will waste precious time searching for him." Leila nodded submissively.

"As you command," she acknowledged. Ephidel smiled at the young woman.

"You know, you've only been with the Black Fang for a short time, but you're quite skilled," he praised. "I look forward to watching you in action later." With this, he swept his cloak and disappeared.

o0o

As Darin fled Laus castle, Eliwood and his group was in a fierce battle with the remaining Laus troops, led by Knight Commander Bernard.

"I wonder where the Caelin guards are..." wondered Hector.

"They may have been taken away as prisoners," replied Eliwood. "We should try and rescue them quickly. If they decide to hold them hostage, it would make retaking the castle a lot more difficult." Moving quickly, they blazed through the entrance hall, killing all Laus soldiers that stood in their way.

The Caelin guards were indeed captured and were locked up. They were mostly bruised and battered, and were exhausted, without any sign of resistance. However, one red-haired young man was pacing around his cell, a look of agitation on his face.

Walking to the door, he called the guard: "Hey, you! Let me out of here. Marquess Ostia's brother is among your enemy, right? Let me out, and I'll help you." The soldier turned his head and creased his eyebrows.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" he said crossly. "You work for House Caelin!" The young man laughed.

"I have a grudge against Castle Ostia," he explained. "Let me out, I need to take down the brother. You can hold Lucius hostage if you want." Lucius, who was a rather feminine looking, blonde haired young man opened his eyes in shock.

"No, Lord Raven!" he called. "You mustn't! You cannot betray your debt to Marquess Caelin!" Raven backhanded Lucius across the face.

"Shut up Lucius," he retorted. Squatting down, Raven whispered it in his ear: "You might think I'm foolish, but I have a plan, you don't understand." Turning back to the guard, he asked: "So yeah, how about it?" The soldier pondered his options.

"Very well," he finally agreed. "Get out, now! If you betray us, your pretty little friend dies." Raven shot him a dirty look.

"Fine," he acknowledged. "If that happens, you'll die next. Lucius, stay here and be quiet. I'll come back for you."

Stepping out with his sword, he searched for Hector. As he approached the lord, however, he saw a red-haired girl holding a magical staff, healing injured fighters.

"You!" he called her. It was Priscilla. She turned around and saw him, and thought there was something remotely familiar about him. "You don't recognise, me do you?" asked Raven. "It doesn't matter, you were very young when we separated anyway." Priscilla's heart skipped three beats.

"You..." she gasped. "You... you're brother Raymond!" Raven was indeed Priscilla's long-lost brother. When Horse Cornwell was destroyed, Priscilla was adopted by Count Caerleon, but her brother lived the hard life and became a mercenary. Hoping to avoid persecution, he changed his name from Raymond to Raven, and was eventually hired into Caelin's service, becoming friends with Lucius. He had never forgotten that members of House Ostia were the one that persecuted his family, and hated them to their bones.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her. Priscilla buried her head into his arms. "I was looking for you," she cried into his chest. "I'm fighting with Lord Eliwood and Lord Hector, now." Raven almost dropped his sister.

"What?" he exclaimed. "You are helping Ostia?" Priscilla saw her brother tense with rage and was frightened.

"They are really nice people, and they saved from that lecherous Marquess Laus," she explained. "They are nothing like the Ostia that we knew." Raven closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"My grudge is still with Ostia..." he muttered. "You know what, I'll join you. The closer I get to Hector, the better chance I have of getting revenge." Priscilla did not know how to respond, but was glad to be reunited with her brother.

Meanwhile, the prisoners who were locked up with Lucius was listening to the battle outside.

"It's the sound of combat," one of them noted. "It must be Lady Lyndis! She must have found reinforcements! It's time..." Turning around, Lucius raised his eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" he asked curiously as the soldier pulled out a key a stash of weapons. "When Laus attacked, I knew we'd be in trouble, so some other soldiers and I hid some weapons in stashes in the cells. Although, Lord Lucius, your master betrayed us. What would you do?"

Lucius looked regretful. "I want to stop Lord Raven," he sighed. "In his current state, I doubt he'll listen to me... so I will wait here. I'm sorry I can't fight with you." The soldier nodded his acknowledgement. He handed Lucius a vulnerary and light magic spell book.

"Use these to take care of yourself," he told Lucius. "I've only known you for a short while, but you're a good friend. I don't want to see you die." Suddenly, he heard the Laus soldier outside scream and die horrifically. The door burst open and Raven entered the room.

"Change of plans, Lucius," he told Lucius. "For now, we side with Caelin." Lucius was delighted.

"Lord Raven, what made you change your mind?" he asked curiously. Raven snorted with contempt.

"The closer we get to the enemy the easier to take him out, yes?" he asked rhetorically, leaving Lucius with a look of horror. "Now's not the time for that, let's go and take back Caelin!"

After about an hour of intense fighting, Eliwood, Hector and Lyn had captured the enemy commander, Bernard. The battle was over. Lyn frantically moved around the castle to search for her grandfather while Eliwood and Hector followed. As she got to the throne room, however, she almost fainted after seeing a trail of blood from the throne to the room behind. Eliwood and Hector were also shocked after seeing it, but they kept their composure.

"Lyndis, he may only be injured," hoped Eliwood. Suddenly, there was a sudden movement. "Show yourself!" ordered Eliwood. Landing from the roof, a red haired girl appeared.

"You... Leila!" exclaimed Hector. Eliwood and Lyn both looked at him in surprise. Seeing their expressions, Hector explained: "She works for Ostia, she a well... fine, she's a spy." Leila bowed.

"Lord Eliwood of Pherae and Lady Lyndis of Caelin, yes? Pleased to meet you both." Turning to Lyn, she pointed to the trail of blood leading to the other room.

"Lady Lyndis, Marquess Caelin is in that back room," she informed Lyn. "I was just treating his injuries, his life is yet his own." Lyn let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh Father Sky and Mother Earth, I thank you for your mercy!" she breathed. Hector turned to young spy and pulled her to the side.

"What are you doing here, Leila?" he asked. "Does my brother have a message for me?" Leila smiled mysteriously.

"I am following Lord Uther's orders," she answered. "He told me to investigate Marquess Pherae's disappearance." Hector rolled his eyes. 'My typical brother,' he thought. 'He told me he wouldn't expend any effort with Eliwood's father yet he sends his spies out.' Before he could reply, Eliwood had heard Leila and asked her: "What have you learned?" Leila started walking away.

"Let's go and talk in private, Lord Eliwood," she beckoned. Realising that Leila's information may not be good news, Eliwood's stomach tied itself into a knot, but he ignored them and followed her.

When they sat down, Leila got straight to the point. "I'll start with my conclusion," she began. "Marquess Pherae... is alive."

Letting out a breath of relief, Eliwood asked: "Are you sure?" Leila nodded.

"I've been posing as a member of the Black Fang for a few months now, this is how I got my information," she explained. "The Black Fang is a guild of assassins founded about ten years ago by Brendan Reed, based in Bern. They quickly spread into several other countries. Originally, they only targeted nobles who abused their power. The masses saw them as the chivalrous protectors of the common man, and their activities found wide support." Eliwood, Hector and Lyn looked at each other. The Black Fang that targeted them could hardly be considered chivalrous, they thought.

"About a year ago," Leila continued. "Brendan got married again. The Black Fang's operations have slowly changed since then. Now they'll take on any job, no matter how difficult, as long as they are paid. They're now longer only killing criminals, anyone is a fair target. We've learnt of a mystery man named Nergal. He's behind Brendan Reed's wife. It seems the Black Fang is performing secret tasks across Lycia under Nergal's orders. Nergal's trusted servant Ephidel is with Marquess Laus. He was the one who manipulated Marquess Laus into hatching the rebellion plot against Ostia. The first to answer Marquess Laus' call was Marquess Santaruz, next was Lord Elbert, Marquess Pherae."

Eliwood felt like he was hit by a bolt of lightning. "You're telling me that my father actually agreed to this?" he stammered.

"I can't know for sure," Leila went on. "I do know he is currently with Marquess Laus, at a place called the Dragon's Gate." This puzzled the three lordlings. They have never heard of such a place.

"Where is that?" asked Eliwood. "Is it in Elibe?"

Leila nodded. "It's on the an island called Valor, on the southeast coast of Lycia," she answered. Hector slammed his fist onto the nearby table. "Of all the places, it has to be bloody Valor!" he muttered irratably.

Lyn looked confused. Seeing her expression, Eliwood explained: "It's said that those who step onto Valor never return. The common folk call it the Dread Isle. However, if that is where my father is, then I will go there. I will find him and this Dragon's Gate, too!"

Hector laughed. "Well said," he said heartily. "I'm coming with you, and you can't stop me!"

Lyn nodded in agreement. "I'm coming too," she said. Eliwood knew he couldn't stop Hector, but he tried to talk Lyn out of it.

"I appreciate your kindness, Lyndis," he began. "But shouldn't you stay with Marquess Caelin?" Lyn looked slightly guilty, but was insistent.

"Laus must be stopped," she said forcefully. "They might target my grandfather again if we don't do something. I also wish to help your father. It's the least I could do to repay you. Losing a parent is an unbearable pain. It's something I'd rather you don't have to feel yet." Overcome by their friendship, Eliwood could not thank them enough.

"I'm going to continue investigating," Leila told them. "Lady Lyndis, I think it would be a good idea to let everyone think that Marquess Caelin is dead." Lyn thought about it for a second, and thought it made sense and nodded in approval.

"Leila!" called Hector. "What do these people Nergal and Ephidel look like?"

"I've yet to lay eyes on Nergal," replied Leila. "I've spoken to Ephidel quite a few times, however. He's really creepy. He always wears a hood to cover his face, yet his eyes glow golden. You can't miss them, they seem... inhuman." As she was about to leave, a shadow appeared behind and grabbed her back.

"Leila!" called Matthew. "Where have you been, on more dangerous missions?" He had a romantic relationship with the young woman. Leila smiled sweetly.

"We're spies, Matthew," she replied. "Everything we do is dangerous. My objective is the same as yours, which is to find Marquess Pherae. Hopefully, I'll get back about the same time you do."

Matthew shrugged his agreement. "Is that so?" he laughed. "You'll have to come to my hometown to meet my parents, hehehe. That's that! See you, Leila. Be careful!" With that, he walked off. Leila sighed while shaking her head.

"He's slippery as ever," she noted. "Didn't even wait for my reply." With this, she bade farewell to Hector, Eliwood and Lyn, who were deciding to go to the nearby port to try and arrange a trip to the Dread Isle.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I've read some of the reviews and I apologise for the spelling mistakes, I kind of rushed to publish them. I've been proofreading them more carefully now. Anyway, if you have been finding it boring so far, I don't blame you. The start of FE7 is relatively boring. I was bored writing the first few chapters, but I promise it will get better (at least I think it's better).

Another note: This chapter is a bit more heavy on the violence side, but the T rating should be fine, in my opinion.

o0o

_Chapter 4: Fargus's Pirate Crew Makes Women Smile and Villains Revile_

After speaking with the Ostian spy, Leila, Eliwood and his friends decided to find a ship to sail to the Dread Isle and find Eliwood's father. In two days, they had travelled to the port town of Badon on the south coast of Caelin. Wasting no time, they went to the nearest pub to ask around for sailors.

"Listen!" called Hector. "We need a ship to Valor, as soon as possible!" The patrons of the pub all looked at each other, then all burst out laughing.

"You want a boat to the Dread Isle?" snickered a sailor. "You're a madhouse! Who the hell would sail to that hell of a place? No-one's going to take you there, bro!" Eliwood had expected such a reaction. Who would want to sail to an island of no return? Hector's face went bright red, and cracked his fists. Seeing that the situation was not favourable, Eliwood stepped in to stop the fight. "I'm sorry, if you can't help us, is it possible to direct us to to someone who can?" Eliwood asked gently. The sailor sighed.

"You must have urgent business," he noted. "There may be one way for you to get there, but don't blame me if it doesn't work, or if it's not to your taste." Without hesitation, Eliwood asked what it was.

"Pirates," answered the sailor. "They're fearless, or as close to it as anything that can be fearless. They'll go anywhere for a fee. Who knows? They may even accept your mad offer. Only the craziest people would go after the craziest proposals, I guess."

Eliwood and Hector looked at each other. Lyn, on the other hand, turned acid sour. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice," conceded Hector.

Shooting him a dirty look, Lyn raised her voice: "Are you serious, Hector?" she snapped incredulously. "Working with pirates? Unbelievable!"

"If there's no other way, what can we do?" Eliwood chimed in, only to elicit more fury from Lyn. She was like a kettle whose lid had just popped off while the water was boiling.

"You, too, Eliwood?" she yelled. "You have seriously let me down. It is utter stupidity to trust pirates! I'm going to see if there's anyone else!" With this, she stormed out of the pub at once.

"Geez, what's up with her? Why is she so angry?" wondered Hector. Eliwood explained how her parents were slaughtered by bandits.

"Bandits, pirates, they're all the same to Lyndis," he illustrated. "One group runs amok on land, the other in the sea. To her, they are all lawbreakers and murderers." Hector sighed his acknowledgement.

"Although my parents died of illness, I can see what she's getting at," he concurred. "Should we abandon the pirate plan?" The sailor they were talking to shook his head.

"Too bad about the girl," he shrugged. "But there really isn't another way. You wouldn't find anyone within five hundred miles that'll get you there, and I doubt you'll find anyone outside that range, either."

Without any better alternative, Eliwood decided to give it a try. "Let's go and meet the pirates," he decided. "We can't decide until we've seen what they're like." The sailor directed them to the inn where pirates frequently visited.

"Best be prepared," he told them as he left them. "These freebooters are reckless and unpredictable."

As Eliwood and Hector stepped into the inn, a strong stench of body odour filled their nasal cavities. A half-dressed prostitute blew them a kiss. While Hector would frequently get into rough places, the inn was a completely new dimension to Eliwood. He could only tense up uncomfortably as he walked through the place, searching for the captain of the pirate group.

Suddenly, a booming voice filled the room. "What do you want, whelps?" asked a white-bearded pirate sitting at the end of the room in what resembled a throne. "You're here to see me, aren't you?" Eliwood turned around to face him.

"Are you the commander of the pirate armada?" he asked courteously. The old pirate laughed his head off.

" 'Commander of the pirate armada'!" he howled. "Hahaha, I like the sound of that! Are you lads that naïve, or are you dumb?" All the other pirates in the room also burst into laughter. Eliwood's face turned as red as his hair.

"I apologise if I've insulted you," he mumbled embarrassingly. "How should I address you?"

The captain shrugged and snorted: "Hmph, you don't frighten easily, I'll give you that. At least you're not stupid enough to pick a fight with us. 'Captain' will do, whelp. I'm Fargus, captain of the Davros. Actually, you know what, just call me Fargus. You aren't one of me mates. Now, what do you want?" Seeing Fargus being friendlier than what he was expecting, Eliwood loosened up a bit.

"We need to book passage to Valor," he told the old pirate. Fargus raised his eyebrow. "Valor?" he muttered with surprise. "How much will you pay me?" Eliwood looked at Hector and back at Fargus again.

"We don't know the current rates," he answered. "Tell us how much you want."

Fargus thought for a second. 'These kids are really naïve, I could ask as much as I want and they'll give it to me,' he noted. "I'll charge you a hundred thousand gold pieces," he told them. Both Eliwood and Hector's jaws dropped.

"A hundred... thousand?" gasped Hector. As someone who had very little street experience, Eliwood could only feel downhearted, but did not bargain with the pirate because he did not have the concept.

"We have no choice," he said resolutely. "We'll need some time, Fargus. We'll get the money as quickly as possible." He turned to leave as Hector followed after him.

"Hold on, Eliwood!" called Hector from behind him. "Where the hell do you think you're going to get a hundred thousand gold pieces?" Eliwood looked around the place.

"I saw an arena just down the road," he replied. "We can raise some quick gold there, I guess. We have no other way, do we?"

Hector shrugged. "Well, you could at least tried to bargain with the guy, although I doubt it would have worked," he suggested. "You really surprise me sometimes, Eliwood. I could go and ask Oswin to get some of my book in Ostia and sell them, too."

Suddenly, a pirate called from behind: "Ahoy! Hold ya ground, boys!" A young pirate wearing a headband was marching toward them.

"What now?" blurted Hector irritably. "We haven't got the gold yet." The pirate laughed.

"Fool! Of course you haven't!" he snickered. "The captain's got a message for you." Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "Oh? What message?" he asked. The pirate pointed toward the docks.

"The captain wants to play," he explained. "See the docks over there? All me mates in this town are going to attack you at once. If you can beat us and make it to the dock where the captain is unharmed, he'll give you free passage." Eliwood's eyes popped open. Never in his imagination would he have expected this.

"What the fuck?" he stammered. "Free of charge?"

The pirate laughed. "The captain is a tad off-kilter. He hasn't had much interesting stuff gone on in a while. He'd much rather have a bit o' fun with you than to take your gold. Talk to the captain at the docks and you're the winner! Although, don't make the mistake of attacking him! You anger the captain, and there's no turning back! Don't forget that!" Turning around, he ran back as the pirates started their charge.

Meanwhile, Lyn was moving between the various inns, trying in vain to find passage to Valor. Suddenly, she heard yelling and commotion outside. Walking outside, she suddenly saw Eliwood and Hector fighting with a pair of beefy-looking pirates. Stepping in, she stabbed them both in the stomach as they were distracted.

"Oh, Lyn!" called Hector. "Nice timing, we need your help. Don't kill them by the way." Lyn was confused.

"Why are you fighting them?" Eliwood explained how Fargus had decided to play the sadistic game with them, and that they had to reach him unharmed to get free transport to Valor. Lyn rolled her eyes.

"I can never understand pirates," she mumbled. "Whatever, since I'm here, let me help!" As she finished speaking, about five pirates approached them.

"These pirates are really good," noted Hector. "Let's split up to divert their attention!" Nodding in agreement, Eliwood and Lyn both walked their separate ways. Keen to shake off the pirate on his back, Eliwood decided to run through an alleyway and hide in a pirate-free bar, then plan his next move. Suddenly, a finger tapped him on the back. It was the red-haired bar attendant. She signalled for him to hide under the bar.

"I heard about your contest with pirate captain," she whispered to him. "You got nerve, I'll give you that! I'll give you some advice. Don't try to overpower the pirates, you won't win. Take the narrow path next to this bar and follow the wall to the sea. Pass in front the shop and stay close to the sea wall. You should be able to reach Fargus and win your game!"

Eliwood was grateful but also suspicious. "How do you know all this?" he asked.

The bar attendant smiled sweetly. "Well, my sweetie's a pirate," she answered him. "His name is Jake, and he's the best! If you see him, tell him that Anna's worried about him!"

"Ah, thank you so much for your help," Eliwood thanked her. Getting up, he walked briskly out of the bar, taking out a pirate in the process. He ran around the bar and down the alley behind it.

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind him. Turning around, Eliwood saw a handsome-looking scholar in black robes jogging towards him.

"Excuse me!" he called. "I was speaking with an old sailor just a few minutes ago. He told me that you're planning to travel to Valor. Is that why we're tagging with these pirates?" Eliwood nodded, while simultaneously hushing him to the side.

"Who are you?" he asked. "It's not safe here, you should hide."

The scholar shook his head. "My name is Canas," he replied. "I'm a scholar of sorts, I've been seeking passage to Valor for a while now, but no-one would take me."

Eliwood took him to the side in the alley to hide from pirates. Crouching down to avoid attention, he whispered to Canas: "Our trip to Valor is not going to be a picnic. We're being chased by assassins and it's likely we'll face more when we get there. I doubt we can afford to take a man full of brains and no brawns there." Canas looked rather hurt.

"Hey, I'm not defenseless!" he replied indignantly. "You know, I have some skill with elder magic, or what the commoners call dark magic. I can at least take care of myself, if not others."

"There they are!" called a pirate, who had heard Eliwood and Canas talking. Waving his hands around and gathering his power, Canas fired a dense, dark ball of pure energy at the pirate, knocking him out instantly.

"Hm, I'm not yet strong enough, I required so much energy to do just that much," he noted sadly. Eliwood, on the other hand, was impressed.

"Alright, consider getting yourself a seat on the Davros to Valor," he breathed. They happily walked out of the alleyway and toward the dock where Fargus stood.

As they travelled about another three hundred metres, the docks came into view. They saw Fargus sitting on the pier, counting. Determined to end the game, Eliwood started sprinting toward the captain. Then, out of nowhere, a spear came at him, nearly impaling him to the nearby tree. From behind him, a rather arrogant-looking paladin and three rough-looking soldiers marched towards at the young lord.

"Eliwood of Pherae!" called the paladin. "You don't yet know to fear the Black Fang. You are about to die. Scream if you must." Raising his sword, he charged at Eliwood with his henchman in tow. 'Great,' thought Eliwood. 'I have to deal with pirates and this ridiculous man. How the hell am I supposed to take all this?' Raising his own sword, he defended himself from the assassins. After a week of being exposed to fighting that was about ten times the amount of fighting experience he had gained over his entire lifetime, his ability had increased dramatically. Using his sword, he effortlessly parried the paladin's attacks while Canas fired dark magic at the others. It did not take long for the Black Fang paladin to become worried. 'Lord Ephidel told me this would be a piece of cake,' he thought. 'How is it that this kid is so good?' After about thirty exchanges, the assassin decided enough was enough and attacked with everything he had. Caught slightly by surprise, Eliwood lost a bit of ground but quickly regained it, recognising the futileness of the paladin's attacks. With a quick thrust, he stabbed the assassin in the chest. The assassin could only shake his head in disbelief. 'That Ephidel,' he thought on his death throes. 'What a fucking liar.'

As the assassin fell, Hector and Lyn came around the bend to take out the other three henchman who were giving Canas a lot of trouble. Unfortunately for them, the pirates had heard this commotion and swarmed on the lords like white blood cells converging on an infection. Without any other option, the lordlings and Canas sprinted toward the docks as fast as they could, slashing their weapons at anything that moved. After a minute of sprinting and a trail of injured pirates in their wake, Eliwood, Hector and Lyn finally reached Fargus. Seeing the lordlings approach him, Fargus laughed heartily.

"Haha, you made it, whelps!" he called. Out of breath, Eliwood and the others could only sit down triumphantly.

"That was... hard..." panted Hector. "You'll give us passage now, right?"

Fargus smiled as he patted them each on the back. "I'm a man of sea," he said cheerfully. "I always keep my word." As he marvelled at the lordlings courage, his eyes stopped on Lyn.

"Are my old eyes lyin' to me?" he chortled. "Is this beauty really with you? Hahaha! You've made my day!" Lyn's face contorted with fury. Seeing that she was probably going to react, Hector pulled her to side.

"Don't get angry," he pleaded her. "I know how you feel about this, but we have no other choice." Lyn's eyes were reduced to slits.

"I know that!" she snapped back. "I haven't said a word!" With this, she stomped off onto the ship by herself.

"Never mind her," Hector told Fargus. "Oh, what do we do with all your injured mates?" Fargus shrugged.

"Just let 'em recover here for a while, I've got enough crew to sail to Valor," he spoke indifferently. Turning around, he walked into the ship, signalling for Eliwood and his group to get on board.

o0o

The Davros sailed along smoothly. The sun was shining and the waves were not very high. Eliwood stood at the deck of the ship, staring into the distance in trepidation.

"Ahoy, laddie!" called Fargus from behind. "You don't seasick, do you?" Eliwood turned around to face the captain.

"I'm fine, thank you," he replied. "May I ask you a question?"

Fargus rotated his head about thirty degrees clockwise. He waved his hand for Eliwood to proceed. Seeing his cue, Eliwood began his question: "Why did you agree to give us passage? When we said that we wanted to travel to Valor, the people in the harbour treated us like madmen."

Fargus smiled and answered: "Of course they would have. It's the Dread Isle, after all. We wouldn't have went if it weren't for good reason, either." Eliwood was rather surprised and curious.

"Then what have we done to convince you to give us free passage there?" he asked. Fargus closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Men are strange beasts, laddie," he said after a few seconds of thinking how to express himself. "We can't resist a good challenge. If something appears on the horizon, we'll immediately set sail for it. We can conquer some dreams while we are forced to abandon other ones. I'm an old man, now. I haven't had a good challenge in many years, then you mooncalves show up looking for passage to the Dread Isle! I was impressed with your courage. If anyone are going to survive that place, it'll be you people."

Eliwood nodded as he understood Fargus' sentiment. "We won't disappoint you," he said gratefully. Fargus patted his hand on Eliwood's shoulder.

"All right, when we get there, we'll set our anchor a mile or two out from the shore and wait for you. Light a signal fire when you want to return, and we'll pick you up."

o0o

Meanwhile, Hector was pacing around the ship. "If you're looking for Eliwood, he's talking with the captain on the other side of the ship," Lyn told him as he passed her. She was sitting on the stern of the ship, staring into the distance for a while, and had mainly refused the services offered to her. She was rather surprised to see Hector sit down next to her when she told him that Eliwood was talking to Fargus.

"Do you need something?" she asked. Hector let out a quick sigh.

"Since he's talking with the captain, I won't bother him, I guess," he said. Turning to her, he suddenly looked serious. "The mates on this ship told me that you're refusing to talk to or accept anything from them," he continued. "I'd like you to stop pouting. This pirate ship is the only way for us to get to the Dread Isle. I thought you understood that."

Lyn reduced her eyes to slits. "How I feel or what I think has nothing to do with you!" she snapped.

Knowing that he had touched a soft spot, Hector looked rather apologetic. "Eliwood told me about your parents and those bandits..." he whispered. "But you have to realise that these pirates don't seem like bad fellows."

Lyn let out a mirthless laugh. "It wasn't just my parents, Hector!" she cried. "My entire tribe was killed by those monsters!" Standing up, she slammed her fist into the side of the ship. "Everyone was killed! They poisoned our drinking water and left us in agony! My people could hardly stand, let alone fight! That's when the bandits attacked, they waited until we were defenseless, no more than your ordinary farm animals! Then those bandits slaughtered them like animals!" Hector eyes dilated in horror. Although he had known Lyn had a brutal past, he had never known the severity of it until now.

"My father put me on his horse, and told me to escape," Lyn continued, tears streaming from her eyes as her body trembled uncontrollably. "Just me! Can you imagine how it feels to be the sole survivor of a brutal massacre? My poor father, the pain must have been hell on earth. He lifted me up with his last breath, arms shaking erratically and eyes rolling. Do you understand now? I was found unconscious by another tribe as I woke up ten days later. The bodies of my people had already been buried when I woke up. I never even had the chance to say farewell! My last memory of my father was one of a broken and dying man. Even to this day, I can still see the axes rising and falling, I can still hear the screams of terror of my people. I've sworn to graveyard that remains of my people that by my hands I will avenge them all! I don't know what you see in these pirates. Pirates and bandits, they insult me with their presence!" In frustration and grief, she once again slammed her fist into the side of the ship.

Listening to Lyn open up in the way she did, Hector could only feel regret at causing the eruption that spewed out of her. Standing up, he slowly strolled to the side of the ship.

"You're a strong woman, Lyndis," he sighed sadly. "I didn't think that you would want anyone to see you cry like this."

Lyn snorted at him. "You're such a fool!" she snapped angrily. "If you think that's what I want, then just leave me alone!" Hector raised his head and sky and let out a long sigh.

"I lost my parents, too," he mumbled sadly. "It's nothing like what happened to you, but my parents died from illness. While it doesn't compare with the horrors that you have experienced, unlike you, I have nothing to direct my frustration to. I wanted to do nothing more than to cry like a little baby. Yet, I knew I couldn't cry in front of others. Men don't cry. However, when I was alone, I found that I still couldn't. It's like trying to go to dunny but constipating."

Lyn shook her head in disbelief. "You really are a fool," she sighed. "You can't just hold everything in, you know." In the space of about half a minute, both the powerful man in Hector and the resolute woman in Lyn shared their grief in silence. They then walked down to where Eliwood was chatting with Fargus.

Suddenly, the pirate in the headband from before ran up to Fargus. "Captain!" he called. "There's a dory adrift to port! Looks like someone's on board. What're your orders?"

Fargus looked surprised. "Bring 'em aboard, Dart," he replied. "Looks like we've got a visitor. Odd though, the sea currents in this area, anything drifting around here must've come from the Dread Isle..." Eliwood looked puzzled, too. Who would visit them from the Dread Isle. Was it the Black Fang? If it was, why would they come via a dory?

"Eliwood!" called Hector as he approached with Lyn. "You done talking with old man Fargus? You learn anything?"

Eliwood nodded. "We can trust him," he replied confidently. "We got really lucky, finding someone like him."

"Hurry up you two, they've pulled a dory on board!" called Lyn. "I wonder who's on board... it's a girl?"

"Oy! You there!" Dart called in their direction, signalling to Lyn. "You want to see me?" Lyn replied, trying to hide any discomfort from her voice.

Dart nodded. "Yeah," he responded. "Give me a hand will you? I don't where to grab her..." Lyn expected Dart to make a snide joke about her, and was rather surprised at his request. "Uh, okay," was all she could muster.

"Stow it!" growled Dart, as he and Lyn the passenger out of the dory.

As the female passenger was pulled out of the dory, both Eliwood and Lyn's eyes dilated to their maximum size in shock and surprise as they recognised her beautiful face and long silver hair. It was Ninian, a dancer they had both met a year ago. She had a pale white face, with delicate features with an almost serene look. At the time, as Lyn was returning to Caelin, they encountered her brother, Nils, a bard, who was being chased by armed assassins. Unable to stand the injustice, Lyn and her group decided to rescue the boy. However, as they saved Nils, they were unable to do the same for Ninian, and that was when Eliwood intervened. On his way to his bimonthly spar with Hector, he saw her being kidnapped and stepped in to save her. After that, Nils and Ninian travelled with Lyn toward Caelin to reclaim the throne. While appearing to be a common bard and dancer, they were anything apart from ordinary. They had innate powers that could allow them to detect if danger was approaching by detecting energy profiles around them, and once saved Lyn from being shot by a ballista. They were also use their dances to shift energy from one person to another in a fighting formation, allowing the formation to better conserve their energy and hence become more efficient in combat.

"Unbelievable," breathed Eliwood, but with concern in his voice. "What are the odds?"

"Ninian, wake up!" called Lyn as she shook her. The silver-haired girl stirred. Groggily, she slowly opened her bright red eyes.

"You know her?" Hector asked Eliwood, while thinking 'How does he know all the good-looking girls when he stays in the castle all the time?' Eliwood explained how he and Lyn saved her from the band of villains. Suddenly, Ninian threw up as she awoke fully.

"What's wrong, Ninian?" asked Lyn. "Why were you on that boat? Where's Nils? Why isn't he with you?" The only reply Ninian was to give a pained groan and she immediately began to sway about in a periodic fashion while shivering at about ten times the frequency.

"Something's wrong her, Lyndis," said Eliwood in a worried voice as he took off his coat and gave it to Ninian. "Let's take her inside and see what's wrong."

Suddenly, a sentry pirate on the mast shouted: "Captain! Pirate ships approaching from the north-west!" Fargus was furious.

"They dare attack Captain Fargus and the Davros?" he yelled in outrage. "Are they retarded? What flag are they flying? These seas belong to us, whoever they are, they're in our waters! Prepare for battle, boys!"

Turning around to Eliwood and the others, he ordered in a much gentler voice: "This is a day for strange occurrences, it seems. You whelps just watch your hides, we have no time to waste on you!" As the crew of the Davros prepared for battle, one of the enemy ship hurled a large rock from a catapult attached to their deck. It hit the hull of the Davros, causing it to shake and make all of the occupants fall over in a heap.

"Wuuraaaa!" called a pirate from within the ship. "Water! Captaaaiiin! The hull's been breached! We're taking in water!"

Fargus' fury had almost reached its limit. "Those scum are more dangerous than I thought!" he roared furiously, face turning red. "Dart, get everyone to take care of it!" Picking up his shiny silver axe, he stared maliciously at the incoming enemies. "I'm going to carve these scallywags some glizzards!" he declared. However, the crew had other plans.

"We need your help, captain!" called the pirate. "The water's up to the galley! You need to come down below, captain!" Fargus was beyond pissed.

Seeing his reaction, Eliwood decided to step in. "Fargus, leave the deck to us, we can fight them!"

Hector nodded his agreement. "Fighting is something we're not bad at!" he backed up Eliwood. "But a sinking ship is your affair, you have to do something, or we'll all drown!" Fargus pursed his lips and considered his options. He really wanted to open a can of whoop-ass on the enemy; after all, no-one has damaged the Davros and lived to tell the tale. However, if he did not hurry and help, they would probably all die right there.

"Fine!" he agreed. "The deck is yours! I'll come back as soon as I've fixed that hull!" He rushed downstairs as soon as he finished speaking. Whipping out their weapons, Eliwood and his friends prepared for battle.

"Lyndis!" he called. "Take Ninian inside and make sure she doesn't come out!" Lyn nodded in agreement and escorted the girl into a cabin, joining the battle about two minutes later.

Two ships approached the Davros, while a third waited about fifty metres away. The two ships pulled up either side of Fargus' ship and the assassins used a few wooden planks to jump onto and board the ship.

"Just hold them off, everyone!" called Hector. "We only need to wait until Fargus and his crew have finished fixing the ship!" Marcus led a group consisting of Rebecca, Lowen, Sain, Kent, Canas, Matthew and Bartre on one side, while Oswin led Wil, Guy, Raven, Erk, Dorcas and Lucius on the other. The three lordlings stayed in the middle of the ship to take out any breach, while Serra and Priscilla also stayed in the middle to help heal wounds. Florina flew around all three ships, throwing spears at various targets. A dark magician on the ship on the port side of the ship was shooting crescent shaped lunar magic on the Davros.

"All we want is the girl," he called from where he stood. "Kill the rest!" His magic, although relatively weak, was able to pierce through the thickest of armour, so the only way to avoid getting hurt was to avoid getting hit. He hit Oswin in the arm, leaving a huge cut in it.

"Wil!" called Oswin as he nursed his arm. "Can you shoot at their leader? He's really PISSING ME OFF!" Pulling out the arrows from his quiver, Wil sent about five arrows at the shaman while dodging his lunar magic. Unable to continue his assaults, the shaman took cover under a carton. It became a long distance battle, with arrows, spears, hatchets and knives being thrown across the sea. Eliwood's group soon found themselves running short of weapons to throw.

"We're running out of weapons!" called Eliwood. "Hey, Fargus! Do you have any weapon stashes on board?" Hearing Eliwood's request, Fargus sent a young pirate up to show them where the weapons were on the ship.

"The armoury is located over here," he showed Eliwood. "Take whatever you need. If you mateys want anything extra for the Dread Isle, just feel free!" Eliwood thanked him and sent for Matthew to stock them up on the weapons.

"No need to thank me," the pirate replied. "The captain told me to give you as much as you need." Sticking out his hand, he introduced himself: "Name's Jake, by the way, happy to be of service to you." Eliwood shook the offered hand.

"Pleased to meet you too, Jake," he returned the sentiment. "Is Anna your girl? She's worried about you." Jake's face lit up.

"That brings warmth to my heart, mate!" he smiled. "Well I gotta and help out the captain. If you want anything, just call us!" He rushed back down to fix the hull breach.

About half an hour of fighting, the assassins were getting impatient. "Move the other ship to the ship's stern," called the shaman. "That's where they'll be hiding, and that's where they will die." As Eliwood's group was mainly protecting the sides of the ship, they were quite vulnerable to attack from the back. The third ship moved to the stern of the ship, and dark hooded assassins immediately jumped onto the Davros and moved across like ants sensing honey.

"Shit!" called Hector as they were attacked from three fronts. Although they can hold off a certain amount of assassins at once, three groups were too many. Suddenly, a tomahawk flew past him and hit one of the assassins that breached the ship.

"Ahoy mateys, I'm back!" shouted Fargus, flanked by about fifty angry-looking pirates. "Who wants to die first?" At once, the pirates flooded out of the cabins and swarmed on the assassins like ants. Jumping across the ships like monkeys, they quickly brought pain and suffering on the enemy. Eliwood and his friends looked on in awe and terror. Now they could finally comprehend by what Dart meant by "you anger the captain, there's no turning back!" Never in wildest imagination have they seen more blood spilt per person, not even in a full scale war. The pirates' axes came down again and again, arms flying off, stomaches being ripped open and heads exploding like tomatoes being splattered on a wall. Priscilla and Serra both saw all the blood flowing and passed out from the horror. Even after watching her entire tribe get massacred, Lyn had not witnessed anything as ferocious as Fargus' pirates at work. She sat on the deck floor, shaking as horrific memories of her tribe's slaying came back to her. The pirates were like a meat grinder, and the assassins were virtually fed into it, causing the surrounding ocean to stain red. Even in open space, the dying screams of the assassins were deafening.

The battle finally ended when the shaman who was the opposing commander let out a blood-churning scream. Fargus had picked him up with one hand and ground his head into a huge axe, blood and tissue flying around like fireworks. Jumping back to the Davros, Fargus tried to brush off the human debris off him the best he could.

"This is what you get when you mess with Fargus and his pirate crew!" he growled. "Sorry about the mess, by the way. That bloody dark magician got a few cuts on me, he really pissed me off." Hector laughed it off, while Eliwood felt a bit squeamish.

"Men!" called Fargus. "Go and loot everything that's left on their ships, then burn them all down!" The pirates did as they were told. He walked back downstairs to get himself cleaned up. At that moment, Ninian stepped onto the deck and tripped over as the blood spilt made it slippery.

"Ninian!" called Lyn. "You can't come out yet, there's blood everywhere!" Eliwood also looked at her with concern.

"Are you okay, Ninian?" he asked. Ninian only looked him in confusion.

"Ninian?" she mumbled while holding her head. "Is that me? Is that my name?"

Lyn looked at Eliwood in shock. "Ninian, what happened to you?" she asked softly. Ninian cupped her head in her hands and shook it.

"I... my head..." she groaned. "It's so foggy... am I at sea?" Fargus had reappeared after brushing off the blood and tissue that were stuck to him.

"Those scum seemed to be after the girl," he noted. "Can you take her with you? The men are afraid that she might be well, cursed, you know?" Lyn shot him a dirty look. Hector did not agree either.

"We can't take her with us, can we?" he chided in. "I mean, we're going to the Dread Isle. It's dread for a reason, you know!" Lyn shook her head.

"She needs to go with us," she said resolutely. "I remember something. The last time I saw Ninian, she and her brother were also being hunted by some dark-robed men. I think they must belong to the Black Fang. It didn't occur to me then, but now I'm certain." Eliwood considered his options.

"If that's the case," he said quietly. "Then she's likely to be attacked again." Lyn nodded.

"Almost certainly," she concurred. "We can't leave her behind. I will watch over her." Eliwood nodded in agreement. Turning to Ninian, he told her: "We're going over to that island. Will you come over with us?" Ninian had no other plans, so she decided to follow them.

o0o

After about two more days of travel, the Davros made land on Valor, the Dread Isle. Its fog-filled forest diffused a feeling of foreboding and fear.

"We're here, mateys!" called Fargus. Eliwood could not help expressing his thanks. "We'll wait two weeks," continued Fargus. "Try to finish up by then. I've also got a half-wit sailor who wants to go sightseeing. Come 'ere, Dart!" Dart marched up the captain and saluted.

"I'm here, captain!" he greeted. "Ready to serve!" Turning to Eliwood and his group, he introduced himself: "I'm Dart, leader of Fargus' suicide squad!"

"His only redeeming feature is his sturdiness," Fargus told Eliwood. "Maybe he'll come in handy.

"Come on captain, I'm better than that!" complained Dart.

Eliwood was grateful beyond words. "We can't thank you enough," he thanked Fargus. Fargus waved his to show that the thanks were received.

"Come back alive," he said cheerily. "That's all the thanks I need." Turning around, he went back onto the ship, leaving Eliwood's group behind. Lyn sighed in shame.

"There are good people, even in pirates," she said quietly. Thinking about how kindly Fargus had treated them, she could only hang her head in shame at the way she behaved. 'Maybe I should stop judging people by their profession and look at their individuality,' she made a note to herself.

Hector nodded in agreement. "I don't think that old man Fargus is your ordinary pirate," he concurred. Turning to Eliwood, he declared: "Somewhere in that forest is the Dragon's Gate, Eliwood, we are not coming back without your father!" Eliwood nodded resolutely.

At the mentioning of the Dragon's Gate, Ninian shivered slightly. "Dragon's Gate..." she mouthed silently. However, this did not go unnoticed by the careful eyes of Lyn.

"Ninian?" she beckoned. "Is something wrong?" Ninian shook her head.

On the side, Rebecca was eyeing Dart rather curiously. Ever since she saw him in Badon, she had always thought that the young pirate looked familiar.

Turning to Lowen, she asked him: "Hey Lowen, do you think that Dart and I have anything in common? I mean, do we look similar?" Lowen had a closer look.

"Hm," he mumbled. "I'm not sure, you do have a little bit of resemblance, but if you didn't point it out, I would probably never have noticed." Rebecca seemed rather disappointed, but did not take her eyes of Dart. 'Could he be?' she thought hopefully. 'This is something I need to follow up on.'


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5: The Horrors and Secrets of the Dread Isle_

The Dragon's Gate was a structure that was clearly not wrought by human hands. A hundred and fifty metres tall and five hundred metres long and wide, it towered over everything around it. It was the perfect place for hiding. It was at this time when a long, cloaked figure wearing a turban let out an angry roar.

"Shame on you, Marquess Pherae!" he shouted. "You freed the boy AND the girl?" The man he was talking to was a battered and weakened man with red hair and a distinct red moustache. This was Lord Elbert, Eliwood's father and the Marquess of Pherae. While he wore the markings of a month worth of torture, he stood defiant and proud against the tall, cloaked man. On his side, stood Lord Darin, the Marquess of Laus.

"Nergal, you fiend," he said boldly. "I will never let you go unopposed!" Marquess Laus turned to cloaked man named Nergal.

"Wh-what should we do, Lord Nergal?" he stuttered. "With both siblings gone, we can no longer hold the ceremony..." Elbert laughed mirthlessly and waved his hand in disgust.

"How many times must I tell you, Lord Darin?" he spoke loudly and impatiently. "You are being used by this monster! By helping him bring dragons back into this world, you are giving him the tools to destroy mankind! How can you not understand this?"

Darin snickered. "Destroy mankind?" he spat incredulously. "Destroy mankind? Dragons may have been a threat to mankind in the past, but with Lord Nergal around, we have nothing to fear! He can control dragons!"

Elbert could only shake his head hopelessly. "Fool..." he sighed. "You're already lost..." Nergal raised his hand to stop them arguing.

"I had planned to start a war in Lycia," he mused. "The war I was plotting in Lycia would have generated enough force in one blow." Turning to Darin and Elbert, he snorted in disgust. "You two were not up to the task, it seems. Not to worry, I have other means at hand."

Elbert was outraged. "Blackhearted fiends!" he roared, as Nergal lifted his hand and blasted him with a burst of powerful dark magic.

"Hold your tongue," he growled menacingly. 'There's still a task you must perform for me, otherwise I would have killed you and taken your quintessence ages ago." Turning around, he called: "Ephidel, Limstella!" A man and a woman respectively, both with jet black, blood red lips and cat-like golden eyes, appeared next to him.

"My beloved morphs, my beautiful works of art..." Nergal purred pridefully. "I have new jobs for you. Limstella, you will go to Bern and contact Sonia. I want you to arrange a meeting with the king." Nodding, Limstella disappeared immediately. Turning to Ephidel, Nergal continued.

"Ephidel, take this... man, Marquess Laus, and go and exterminate the mice who have landed on this island," he ordered.

"Gladly," replied Ephidel. Nergal snickered as he turned to Elbert.

"That leaves you, Marquess Pherae," he hissed maliciously. "It seems your legacy is one of endurance. The mouse that interfered with my conquest of Lycia is Eliwood. Should he be congratulated on making it this far?"

Elbert's eyes widened in shock. "My son is here?" he breathed desperately. "Stop! Do with me what you will, but leave my son be!" Nergal held his head back and laughed.

"Remember the siblings you freed?" he cackled. "The girl's here, too. As a matter of fact, she's with your son. Quite the delicious twist of fate, wouldn't you say?" Elbert smashed his fist into the ground in disappointment.

"This can't be..." he whispered in despair. Nergal snickered in amusement.

"Eliwood will die in these woods," he declared wickedly. "The girl will be returned to me, and the ceremony will take place. Despite these long hours of torture, you remain undaunted. Such courage would make you the perfect sacrifice, Marquess Pherae..." Elbert could only sit hopelessly.

"Eliwood, turn back," he groaned. "Take the girl and flee, please..."

o0o

While Nergal was busy with Elbert, Leila skulked around the room and listened to the conversation. 'I can't believe it's come to this,' she thought as she bolted from the room. 'I must inform Lord Hector of these events, if I hurry, I may make it ti-' Suddenly a blur flashed past her and stood in her way. It was Ephidel.

"Where are you going, Leila?" he asked silkily. Knowing that she had been discovered, Leila could only tremble in fear.

"I was... going to check on the sentries, Lord Ephidel..." she replied unconvincingly. Lord Ephidel closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You overheard us, didn't you? I had so high hopes for you. If only you would have just submitted to us, you wouldn't have experience this terror now. Jaffar!" he called.

Leila had only heard of Jaffar once. A senior Black Fang assassin told her that he was one of the Four Fangs, the highest ranked Black Fang members under Brendan Reed himself. He was rather short, with dark, spiky red hair. Nicknamed the "Angel of Death", Jaffar lived up to his name. He would appear like a ghost and no-one lasted more than a couple of seconds against him when he decided to kill them. He was found as a baby by Nergal on top of a stash of human skulls, which was when the dark magician decided to raise him as his assassin. Hearing Ephidel call the Angel of Death, Leila knew that she was finished. Screaming in horror, she bolted as fast as she could, only to hear a whispering in her ear.

"The punishment for traitors is death," was the last thing that she ever heard. As soon as he finished hissing it, Jaffar stuck his dagger into the back of Leila's throat. Everything went black for the young female spy, the last thing she could do was mouth "Ma...Matthew..." as she collapsed and died in a heap before she could think or do anything else.

"Impressive, Jaffar," Ephidel commented. "Your power is beyond compare. Take this woman's corpse and leave it in the forest. Let it serve as a warning to those fools."

o0o

Meanwhile, Eliwood and his group were making their way through the forest. Helped by Matthew, whose eyes were well suited for seeing through fog, they slowly progressed.

"It's really foggy," noted Hector. " 'Enter and be lost'... it feels like we're not coming back."

Lyn slapped him on the arm. "Hector! Are you trying to curse us?" she complained. Watching his best friend and Lyn argue, Eliwood laughed. Turning to Ninian, he asked: "Are you okay?" Ninian nodded. In the past few days, Ninian had not regained her memories, but got to know most of the group. She was mainly looked after by Lyn and Eliwood, and so, she stayed close to them as a result.

Matthew held his torch in front of him and directed the group further and further into the forest.

"Don't worry, Lady Lyndis," he said cheerfully. "Lord Hector wouldn't do that. You'll never get lost with me in fro-" Suddenly, he dropped the torch and retreated a couple of steps, his body twitching madly, almost fainting.

"No... it can't be..." he whispered in horror. Seeing his sudden reaction, Hector was alarmed.

"What's wrong, Matthew?" he asked, only to see Matthew's shaking double in frequency as he curled into a foetal position. Deciding to see what Matthew had just witnessed, he and Lyn walked forward about ten metres to try and find the source of terror. They did not have to walk very far to find it. Standing in front of them and leaning against a tree, was Leila.

"Leila!" called Hector. "Is that you? Impressive work, finding yourself here!" Lyn kicked him in the shin.

"You idiot!" she hissed. Approaching the spy slowly, she tapped Leila's head slightly, only to have the corpse fall the ground in a heap. Hector's heart almost jumped out of his mouth.

"What the fuck?" he gasped. "She's... she's dead! It can't be!" Eliwood and Ninian both dropped whatever they were holding too. Turning her around, Lyn found the fatal wound in her throat and gasped.

Heading back to where Matthew was, they found him sitting up with his head bowed in grief. "I'm sorry, Matthew," Hector sighed. Matthew shook his head.

"Why apologise for, my lord?" he choked. "Leila blundered. That is all." Standing up, he threw his dagger at the nearest tree in anger and dejection. "After this mission, I was going to ask her to put this life behind her..." he lamented. "I waited too long, didn't I?" Turning around, he continued. "My lord, might I rejoin you later? She needs to be buried." Understanding Matthew's situation, Hector nodded in approval.

Matthew took Leila's body to the tallest-looking tree he could find. Putting her down on the floor and finally away from the attention of the others, he burst into tears and wept freely into her chest.

"Why, Leila, why?" he sobbed. "I told you to be careful, but you just didn't listen, did you?" Regret and agony filled every part of his body. After fifteen long minutes of grieving, Matthew finally snapped back to reality. Using his dagger, he dug a deep as a hole as he could, then settled her body into the ground. He then find a large rock from the nearby stream. Pulling out his dagger, he carved 'The beautiful yet careless thief Leila, erected by her unworthy protector, Matthew'. After burying Leila's body, Matthew's mind was empty as he could only stand in front her grave in solitude, head bowed.

While Matthew was busy grieving for Leila, Hector's fury welled up in him, causing him to smash his axe against the same tree Matthew threw his dagger at, causing it to fall down.

"Blast!" he shouted in exasperation. "She was one of our best spies. They put her out here for us to find like this!" Feeding off Hector's rage, Eliwood and Lyn slapped their hands on their thighs in agreement.

"This is unforgivable!" cursed Lyn. "This is a foul deed indeed, beyond foul!" Standing up, Eliwood had decided that he had had enough.

"Let's go," he suggested. "The enemy is somewhere in this forest. We must stop this before anyone else is killed." Hector pointed in the direction at where Matthew was and signalled that they could not leave just yet. Suddenly, Ninian stood up in alarm.

"Beware!" she called. "Someone is approaching!" Eliwood and Hector both scrambled in alarm, while Lyn yelled in fear as she was grabbed from behind by a Sacaen nomad.

"If you value her life," the nomad told them. "Send the girl over to me. I am Uhai, the Soaring Hawk of the Black Fang. I've been sent to capture the girl and to kill the lot of you. However, if you hand over the girl and depart this island at once, I'll spare all of your lives."

Lyn struggled in his grip. "And if we refuse?" she demanded. "You're a Sacaen, how could you do something so dishonourable? You're a disgrace!"

Uhai exhaled irratably. "You know nothing, little lordling," he lectured her. "Nothing of Nergal's might and terrible power. You are ignorant and so you hope to oppose him. Tell me, can ten ants ever hope to defeat an elephant? Your actions will change nothing, speak no more foolishness and begone!"

Eliwood knew that the Sacaen did not harbour foul intentions from the bottom of his heart. However, he came to Valor to find his father, and that was exactly what he was going to do. He also knew that Ninian was his responsibility, and he would never shirk from it.

"We don't know what we are fighting, that's true," he acknowledged. "However, if we leave now, our loss is assured. If we continue to struggle, we may yet prevail!"

Uhai shook his head sighed deeply. He released his grip on Lyn and pushed her back toward Eliwood and Hector. "Folly..." was all he managed to say. Lyn was confused.

"Why are you letting me go?" she asked him. Uhai shrugged.

"Holding a woman hostage during battle is shameful," he asserted. "You, too, are of Sacae, so I have a mind to show you mercy. I will let you die with a sword in your hands, but rest assured, I will kill of you here." Seeing Eliwood and Hector raise their weapons to confront him, he laughed. "Don't be sad, though," he assured them. "In dying, you will be spared of the calamity that is to come!" He rode his horse off into the distance as shadowy Black Fang assassins closed in on them.

"Be careful everyone!" called Eliwood as they went to meet with the enemy. Turning to Ninian, he ordered her to go and hide with Merlinus and told Marcus to protect them. As they were marching to battle, Matthew rushed back to the group.

"I'm back, my lord!" he called. Hector was surprised.

"Matthew, are you sure?" he asked. "You don't have to fight when you're grieving." Matthew shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" he said confidently. "Look at this eerie place. This fog is exactly why you brought me with you. If Leila... if Leila knew I was shirking in my duties, she would never forgive me. I'm fine. I'll work twice as hard for Ostia in her honour."

Hector nodded in acknowledgement. Putting his hand on the young thief. "I understand, Matthew, I'm counting on you, mate!" he cheered Matthew on. Matthew gave Hector a high-five.

"As you should, my lord!" he professed. Turning to the battlefield, he dropped his head again. "Tell me Leila," he whispered to himself. "This is what you would want, right? You wouldn't want me to give up. I'll mourn for you when our battle is won. Rest in peace, Leila, I will take care of everything."

The battle in the forest was very different to any they have experienced. Trees were everywhere, and the roots of the trees made it difficult to move forward. Fortunately, even with Uhai's peerless bow skills, the arrows would frequently miss their targets because the trees would block them. Eliwood's group and the Black Fang slugged it out for over an hour without much ground gained on either side. It was at this time when a rather beautiful and graceful pegasus knight with teal hair and a serious look flew into the fray.

"I found them..." she muttered to herself. "These men are from the Black Fang. Look, everyone, your sacrifices were not in vain. I'll fulfill my duty, even if I must do it myself. I am a true knight of Ilia!" With this, she raised her lance and charged blindly toward the Black Fang assassins. She took out three assassins in quick succession from the air, and then landed on the ground to take a rest. It was then that a finger tapped on her gently on the shoulder.

"Fiora?" called Florina. "It's you, my sister Fiora!" The teal haired woman was indeed Florina's eldest sister, Fiora.

"Florina, why are you here?" she asked.

"I'm here with Lady Lyndis, you?" replied Florina. Fiora sighed as tears rolled down her face.

"I was investigating the Dread Isle for a client," she told Florina. "There were a full unit of pegasus knights. We were attacked by the Black Fang... I misjudged our situation and all of my knights are dead because of me. I am a failure!" Florina's eyes burst open in terror as she saw her sister raise her spear and point it at her own throat, eyes closed and ready to punish herself. Jumping forward, she pushed her sister over to prevent her from committing suicide.

"That's not true!" Florina pleaded. "You're a splendid pegasus knight! I chose this path because I admired you! Please don't do this to yourself!" After being hugged by her youngest sister, Fiora came back to her senses.

"No, it's my fault," she sighed. "The pain of being the sole survivor had me trapped. Thank you Florina, I can see clearly now." Florina was relieved that see her sister had stopped trying to hurt herself.

"Come and travel with us, Fiora!" she suggested. "It's better to travel with friends than to struggle alone." Fiora considered her offer for a few seconds.

"You're right," she conceded. "I hate to admit it, but I can't do everything alone, nor can I render my companions' sacrifices moot by going home. Florina, please introduce me to your commander. I'll offer my services."

After about an hour of slugging it out, Eliwood, Lyn and Hector finally found themselves in front of Uhai. Drawing their weapons, they circled him carefully.

"How can a proud man such as yourself live as an assassin?" Lyn asked curiously. As a fellow Sacaen, she was bound by tradition. Sacaens should not fight each other unless it was absolutely necessary.

Uhai sighed. "I sympathised with Brendan Reed's ideology," he explained. "He wanted to help the weak, to break the overly proud. Discussing the philosophy with Brendan and his sons, training and becoming stronger together, those were the days..." He closed in nostalgia. "For me, the Black Fang was the first place... that felt like home."

Lyn raised her eyebrows. The Black Fang that they knew were nothing like what Uhai had described, or at least nothing that would make a proud Sacaen feel like home. "Felt?" she asked. "Has the feeling gone?"

Uhai opened his eyes. "The Black Fang has changed," he continued. "Nergal sent that witch... and everything changed, but it's too late for me to change now."

"Why?" asked Lyn in confusion. "Talk to us, we may be able to help you." However, being a Sacaen, Uhai would never betray his own. Drawing his sword, he pointed it at the lords.

"Don't expect me to hesitate even though you are all chivalrous at heart," he warned. Leaping forward, he rushed at them with his sword. Although he was raised in Sacae and learned most of their sword skills, unlike Lyn, he was still a nomad who preferred to use the bow instead of a sword. Lyn alone would have sufficed to defeat him in swordplay, and with Hector and Eliwood supporting her, the nomad did not have a chance. Within five minutes, his chest was cut open by her blade.

"Guuu..." he groaned as he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Well done, you are stronger than I expected. Out of respect... a final gift from me. From here, go south and turn at the rotted tree. Head west, and there lies the path... to the Dragon's Gate." His eyes rolled to the top of his head as he stumbled over and expired.

Even though they won, Eliwood and Lyn could not help but feel a twinge of regret.

"Uhai..." whispered Eliwood. "I wish we could have met under circumstances..." Hector raised his eyebrow.

"Can we trust him?" he asked suspiciously. Lyn nodded.

"He was a Sacaen," she answered. "He would not lie. I, at least, choose to believe him." Eliwood agreed. "He seemed honourable enough," he said. "Let's go onto the Dragon's Gate!"

o0o

After following Uhai's instructions, Eliwood and his friends indeed found a great, rotting tree.

"If we move west from here, we should reach the Dragon's Gate," noted Lyn. Impatient to see some action, she and Hector both rushed off, while Eliwood walked more slowly, with a pensive look on his face. Fearful of what he may find at the Dragon's Gate, he stared off into the distance.

"Lord Eliwood, are you well?" asked Marcus. "You have a pallid look about you." Regaining his senses, Eliwood sighed.

"You heard what Erik said when we were back in Laus, Marcus," he mumbled. "What do you think about it?"

"The bit where he said Lord Elbert was involved in rebellion plot?" Marcus clarified. Eliwood nodded in affirmation. Marcus shook his head. "It must have been a mistake," he asserted. "Your father is loyal to Lycia. He would never, ever, break his oath." Eliwood paced around.

"You're right," he conceded. "I don't believe he'd be involved in a conspiracy, but why am I feeling so uneasy? When my mind is on my father, I just feel terrible." Marcus stepped around in front of Eliwood to look him in the eyes.

"Lord Eliwood, do not mistake your feelings," he told the young lord. "That feeling that strikes you when you think of Lord Elbert comes from a distrustful heart. It comes from concern for your father, who needs our help right now. He is probably involved in something larger than all of us. Everything is happening too quickly, so it is natural to lose sight of that easily."

Eliwood took a minute to take all of it in. "I see," he whispered finally. "You're right, Marcus, thank you. I feel better." Marcus grinned.

"I'm glad to be of service," he said as he accepted the thanks. "The air on this accursed island is disgusting. It's probably the one that's feeding your uneasiness, my lord." Suddenly, he turned his head. "Something is happening ahead of us, let's see what it is," he said in alert.

When Lyn and Hector rushed off, Hector's armour clanked as he walked.

"Hector, hold on a moment," Lyn had called. "Walk quietly. Your armour is really noisy." Hector thought it was good advice, so he tried walking a bit more silently. "How's this?" he asked.

Lyn shook her head. "You're still clanking," she noted. At this, Hector found that his wallet of patience had run out.

"Do you see what I'm wearing?" he said loudly. "This equipment is not light! How do you propose that I walk _quietly_ in this?"

Lyn seemed rather taken aback. "Why are you yelling at _me_?" she stammered. "It's because of all that armour that you're clattering! I'm just saying that we have to move cautiously, nothing more!"

"I know, and I'm trying my best!" retorted Hector. Hearing them argue, Eliwood had rushed to their side.

"Quiet, both of you!" he commanded. "Armour or not, every enemy from here to Pherae would hear you if you both keep shouting like that!" Hector and Lyn both felt their faces redden in embarrassment.

"We need to proceed with caution," Eliwood continued. "I don't believe that Uhai was the only Black Fang assassins in these woods."

o0o

About two kilometres away, an elegant looking sorcerer sat in his chair in some ruins.

"Lord Aion, we've received word from a pegasus unit," an underling reported to him. "The targets are approaching from the far side of that mountain to the east." The sorcerer named Aion stood up and rolled his eyes.

"Uhai must have failed after all," he muttered irritably. "I'm not surprised. We're talking about the shallow mind of a Sacaen nomad, after all. He possessed a certain rough talent, I'll give him that, but he had not idea of planning. Our fighters are in place, yes?" The assassin underling nodded.

"Hehehe, good, excellent," Aion snickered. "In confined spaces like this, my thunder magic devastates. The battle has already been won. You see, combat is an equation, those with intelligence have a natural advantage. I simply cannot lose. Those imbeciles will never reach the Dragon's Gate, ever. I will bury them right here in this forest!" Cackling, he ordered his troops to take their positions and prepare for battle.

o0o

As Eliwood, Hector and Lyn had finished arguing, they looked into the distance and saw some ruins. "Is that the Dragon's Gate, Ninian?" he asked the girl. Ninian, however, did not answer as she shuddered at the mentioning of the Dragon's Gate.

"Are you alright, Ninian?" Eliwood asked with concern. Instead of answering, Ninian suddenly looked into the direction of the ruins and warned: "Beware! The enemy comes!" As Eliwood looked more closely into the distance, he indeed see many assassins hiding in trees and bushes, ready for an ambush.

"We won't reach the Dragon's Gate if we stay on the defensive, everyone!" he called. "Let's hit their commander and attack those ruins!" Pulling his sword out of its sheath, he rushed forward to meet the enemy. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning curved around the trees, missing him by inches.

"Their commander seems like a pretty competent magic user," noted Hector. "We need to be careful, Eliwood, you know I'm not good against magic!" Ducking behind the trees, they slowly made their way forward while avoiding the bolts of lightning. This was made quite difficult by the foot soldiers, as they forced Eliwood and his troops from behind the trees. After about half an hour of battle, Dorcas and Guy were both hit by the bolts of lightning, Dorcas in the leg and Guy in the stomach, both of them out of commission, requiring help from Priscilla and Serra. Suddenly, two streams of powerful light magic appeared as they passed some ruins. Eliwood gasped as he saw an elegantly dressed man standing at the entrance.

"Who are you?" he asked the man. "What are you doing here?" The man frowned.

"My name is Renault," he replied. "I'm on a pilgrimage."

Eliwood gasped. "A bishop? Pardon my rudeness, Your Excellency." Still frowning, Renault asked: "What are you doing here? You don't look like the black-robed group I saw earlier."

Eliwood squirmed. "We stand opposed to them, and this is a battlefield," he explained. "You should stay here, Your Excellency, this battle has nothing to concern you." Renault rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I only want some peace and quiet," he muttered. "I guess it would be useless to try and lay down your arms, so I'll give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small goddess statue, giving it to Eliwood.

"It may help you live longer," he continued. "Even if you face the misery of defeat, you might yet find another road if you live. May you be watched over and blessed on your venture." At this, he stepped back into the ruins and out of sight.

'What a strange man,' thought Eliwood as he watched Renault appear and disappear so quickly. Suddenly, a tingling sensation swept over everyone in the battle. Every magic user was suddenly unable to use their powers.

In the ruins, chaos reigned. "What?" Aion screamed in alarm. "The magic around here is distorted, I can't use any of my magic!" An assassin ran into the complex.

"Lord Aion, it's a disaster!" he reported. "A magic seal has appeared!" Aion roared in fury.

"That dirty good-for-nothing has shown its face?" he spat. "Shit, I had not foreseen this!" However, beneath his anger was a horrible fear. He was now defenseless, as were most of his troops. Taking advantage of the sudden lack of magic, Eliwood ordered his magic users to stay at the back while everyone using weapons charged forward. Within five minutes, most of the opposing Black Fang mages were slaughtered as they had no way of fighting back. Entering the ruins complex, Eliwood and Hector rushed at Aion, who was pissing his pants in fear.

"Thunder!" he called as he attempted to use his powers in vain. "Thunder, hear my cry!" However, thunder decided not to listen and left Aion to die to Eliwood's sword. After the battle was over, the strange tingling sensation that the magic seal instilled was gone.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Eliwood. Hector nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hector, I'm sorry," Lyn stepped up to apologise. "I said things I shouldn't have. As a result, we were detected by the enemies." Hector shook his head.

"No, it was my fault," he returned the apology. "I was shouting without thinking, forgive me."

"It was no-one's fault," said Eliwood, determined to avoid another argument. "There was an eerie power here, but I don't feel it any more. Was it supposed to be connected to the area where magic was nullified?" Lyn thought about it for second.

"Now that you mention it, I was feeling horrible," she noted. "I couldn't avoid complaining about the smallest things. What could that thing have been? The Black Fang couldn't use their magic, either. It wasn't an ally of theirs..." Hector slapped his thigh in irritation.

"Who cares?" he expectorated. "It's gone now, no sense worrying about it. We should concentrate on pushing forward." Eliwood and Lyn both agreed to this.

Without warning, Matthew rushed in to report news. "Lord Hector!" he called. "Bad news, Ninian's run off by herself!" Anxiety washed over Eliwood.

"What is she doing?" he asked. "Why did she run off, where is she headed?" Matthew quickly led them out of the ruins and pointed them in the direction of Ninian's flight. Eliwood was sweating uncontrollably. He had brought her to the Dread Isle, and if anything had happened to her, that was possibly another life that was heaped on his head. He would never forgive himself if she got captured by the Black Fang.

"Quickly, let's give chase!" he said without even thinking.

Luckily for them, the ground was rather soft and they could follow her footsteps. It was clear from the footsteps that her gait was uneven and she was possibly not herself when running off. Chasing after her for about half an hour, they finally followed her into a large temple. It was so old that over half the walls have collapsed. Birds had built their nests in the grooves of the the walls that remained, while vegetation had crept into the main complex. Rushing inside, they found Ninian sitting in the garden, looking entranced, pensive and sorrowful.

"Ninian?" called Lyn. "Why are you running away? Is there something here?" Ninian snapped out of her trance.

"This place..." she mumbled. "I feel like I know it, it's very familiar..."

Catching with Lyn, Eliwood was out of breath. "Lyndis!" he called. "Is Ninian okay?" Seeing Ninian safe and sound, he could not help letting out a sigh of relief. Lyn shrugged unknowingly.

"She seems unharmed," she replied. "But she says she knows this place. Could it have something to do with her amnesia?" Hector, who never completely approved of taking Ninian along, snorted in annoyance.

"Why would she be familiar with something on the Dread Isle?" he said irritably. Eliwood and Lyn ignored him.

"It's a very old building," Eliwood looked around and observed. "It must have been abandoned for centuries..." Hector lost his patience again.

"What about the Dragon's Gate?" he asked crossly. "We're way off course now!" Lyn slapped him on the arm.

"You're so insensitive!" she scolded him. "This might restore Ninian's memory! Try and be a bit patient, will you?"

Hector rolled his eyes. "Excuse me, aren't we in a hurry here?" he argued. "While we're wasting our time, Eliwood's father could be..." Eliwood raised his hand for them to stop.

"It's okay, Hector," he told his friend. "Let's give her a bit time, we'll see what happens." Hector slapped his own face in disgust. 'He's too nice for his own good,' he thought.

Suddenly and out of nowhere, a tall man in a dark cloak appeared. Drawing their weapons in defense for an attack, the lordlings turned to face him. The man seemed rather taken aback.

"I'm only a simple traveler and resting here after walking in the woods," he told them. Turning to the building, he smiled and mused: "This building has been here for a long time." Seeing that the man did not seem dangerous, Eliwood and the others lowered their weapons slightly.

"We were just planning on taking a rest here as well," said Eliwood. "Do you mind?" The man shook his head. "Go ahead," he agreed.

Eliwood looked around the place and was wondering why Ninian would come here. "Do you know what this place is?" he asked.

The man turned around and smiled mysteriously. "It is a ruin from the Scouring, the residence of a dark sorcerer," he explained. "I have found several ancient tomes here, and it's all pretty fascinating stuff. If I can unlock their secrets, I can move closer to darkness. From what I've gathered so far, I need to make further reparations."

Eliwood was confused and disappointed. What did this place have to do with Ninian? "What do you mean by that?" he asked, hoping to extract more information.

The man continued: "Yes, it is the fate of those study dark magic. To covet the dark, you must enter it of your own free will. You must erase yourself and become an empty vessel. Only then, will you be able to receive the dark and master it. If your disposition is weak, the dark will overwhelm you. You will be lost, at times, you will forget why sought the power to begin with. Only a few people ever gain true power. To win such a prize, one's self is a small and insignificant prize. I've heard rumours that Bramimond, one of the eight legends, devoted himself entirely to the dark. All emotions and all memories were dissolved in a river of dark. That is how he received the power to kill dragons."

Eliwood was confused as ever. "I don't understand," he muttered. "Why would anyone want power at the cost of his own identity?"

The dark magician shrugged but laughed evilly. " 'I must have it at any cost' ", he explained. "I believe that every living being has felt such a desire. I know I have. Have you, Eliwood of Pherae?"

Upon hearing the magician mention his name, Eliwood immediately raised his sword again, as did Hector and Lyn. "Who are you?" demanded Hector. "What do you want?" The magician laughed wickedly.

"Hahaha, Uhai and Aion's deaths were most convenient," he snickered. "Your exhaustion is even more convenient. I, Teodor the Shadow Hawk, will lay claim to the deed of killing the young noble of Pherae, as well as returning the girl to Lord Nergal. When I'm done, I will examine this building's treasures at leisure." He then disappeared, and as he disappeared, black fog suddenly engulfed the complex.

"I can't see anything!" called Lyn. Hector was furious.

"That scum..." he growled. "No Black Fang will be left alive!"

In the darkness, they proceeded extremely cautiously, sticking together so they won't be as ambushed as easily. Serra and Priscilla took out torch staves to help them see better. After about ten minutes, they moved into the inner garden of the complex, where they found Teodor waiting for them.

"Come, let me show you the power of the darkness!" he called as he sent heavy blasts of dark magic at them. Dodging them, Eliwood and the others closed in on him and stabbed him in the chest, killing him.

"This is what I spoke of," he sighed as died. "If only I had more power..."

Seeing their enemy fall over and expire, Eliwood rushed around in search of Ninian, who had separated with them in the fog. "Where is Ninian?" he called in concern.

"I found her, she's in that room," Lyn called as she pointed in the direction. "There's a library filled with ancient books inside. She's sitting in there, staring at a picture, and I can't get her to move." Eliwood was surprised.

"What kind of picture?" he asked.

"One of a dragon and a human," answered Lyn. "It's an eerie picture. It shows a single dragon and a single human, not one of actual fighting."

"It must have belonged to the dark sorcerer who had lived here," Eliwood suggested. "I wonder who that man could have been..." At this, Ninian came out of the room, looking nostalgic.

"Ninian, are you ready to go?" called Eliwood. "Did you remember anything?" Ninian shook her head.

"Yes, sorry for the trouble," she said quietly with a twinge of guilt. "I can't remember anything, I'm sorry..." Eliwood smiled and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't push yourself, you'll remember soon enough," he assured her. "Let's go, everyone, to the Dragon's Gate!" They turned to leave.

Just as they left the complex, a tall, cloaked figure wearing a turban teleported in...


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6: Dragon's Gate: Trepidation and Tragedy_

Returning to where the magic seal appeared, Eliwood and his friends continued on the route to the Dragon's Gate. After trekking for a day, they finally saw a gargantuan building in the distance. It was at least a hundred and fifty metres tall and half a kilometre across.

"Look there!" called Eliwood in both relief and fear. "That must be it, the Dragon's Gate!"

"Holy shit, look at how big it is!" gasped Hector. Eager to get news of his father, Eliwood marched quickly toward the building as Hector and the others followed. As they got closer, they could not help but look at the building in awe. It was clearly something that humans had no capability of building. Even if Eliwood's father was in there, they would probably need at least a day to be able to find him.

Deciding to take a rest on the outskirts of the complex before starting his search, Eliwood directed the group to set up camp about fifty metres from the place. This is when he noticed Ninian trembling uncontrollably, each oscillation clearly visible and occurring at an almost blurred frequency.

"What's wrong, Ninian?" he asked her in a worried tone. "Why are you trembling, are you cold?" Ninian struggled to stay straight.

"This place... is... so... frightening..." she stuttered in a shrill voice. "Something... powerful... is... inside..." Her trembling doubled in speed, reaching an almost supersonic frequency.

"It must be her power," Lyn suggested. Hector looked at her in confusion. "What is it that you sense, Ninian?" Ninian ignored her question as she body went haywire.

"I should... not have come here..." she continued in distress as she rocked her head back and forth. "Something awful will happen if I'm here!" With this, she stumbled over and let starting screaming, hands cupped her head in her hands while rolling crazily.

"Ninian, snap out of it!" Eliwood called as he stepped forward to hold her still. Ninian struggled against his grip.

"Nooooooooo!" she cried. "I must get away from here!" Eliwood agreed. 'Something in the Dragon's Gate must be driving her mad', he thought.

"She's getting worse! We must get her away from here!" he called. Standing her up, he allowed her to lean on him as he slowly but surely moved her away from the Dragon's Gate.

"You will not be going anywhere," a cold voice spoke out of nowhere. A chill ran down everyone's back as a tall sorcerer with jet black hair, blood red lips and menacing golden eyes appeared in front of them, barring their exit.

"That little bird has already escaped this island cage twice," he hissed menacingly as he gestured toward Ninian. "Now that she's back, she will not be allowed to fly away again." Rotating his arms to shield her, Eliwood demanded: "Who are you, what do you want?"

"Oh, I apologise for the late introduction," the sorcerer continued arrogantly. "I am Ephidel, pleased to meet you."

Hearing the man introduce himself as Ephidel, the lordlings' blood boiled. This was the man that started all the trouble in Lycia, from Marquess Pherae's disappearance, Marquess Santaruz's death to Marquess Caelin's heavy injury. Cracking his knuckles, there was nothing Hector wanted to do except rip his whole body apart, limb from limb.

"You're Ephidel, are you?" he growled. "I've been looking forward to this!"

Ephidel laughed heartily. "Hohoho, gallantly spoken," he said with amusement. "Of course I know who you are, you're Marquess Ostia's younger brother, Lord Hector." He then turned to Lyn. "And here we have Caelin's beloved princess, Lady Lyndis. Good, good, we're all here." He closed his eyes and nodded his head in fulfillment.

Opening his eyes only a fraction, he went on: "By the way, did you enjoy the gift I left for you in the forest? The corpse of that red-haired traitor?" Hearing this, Hector's fury passed its threshold. Matthew also stepped forward with cold, raw hatred in his eyes.

"Monster!" yelled Hector as his face turned pink. "You'd better stay right there! I'm going to tear you apart, limb from limb!" Ephidel raised his head into the air and cackled evilly.

"Oh, I see now," he snickered. "She was an Ostian spy, was she? Don't be sad, she didn't suffer. It only took one blow."

"DIE!" shouted Hector and Matthew in unison as they both dived at Ephidel with their weapons raised, only to the see the sorcerer vanish into thin air.

"He vanished!" called Hector. "Where did that blackheart go?"

Appearing right behind Eliwood and Ninian, Ephidel raised his hand and blasted Eliwood out of the way. Grabbing Ninian by the hair, he told them: "This girl is needed for my master's ceremony. Please excuse us." Ninian fought against her captor.

"Lord Eliwood, help!" she called. "Let me go!"

Snickering, Ephidel raised his hand and knocked her out. "Ninian!" called Eliwood as Ephidel disappeared along with her.

"Shit!" he called. "We need to save her!"

o0o

Ephidel reappeared about fifty metres into the Dragon's Gate complex right next to Marquess Laus with Ninian on his shoulder.

"Oho!" called Darin gleefully. "The ritual can take place at last!" Ephidel smirked in response.

"Yes, Lord Darin," he nodded. "However, we have an infestation of rodents to deal with. They should be crawling in here in a few moments or so and need to be dealt with before the ritual can take place. Can I entrust this job to you?" Darin laughed.

"Of course, who do you think I am?" he said arrogantly. "I am Darin, the ruler of this world!" Raising his lance, he motioned for everyone under his command to begin attack Eliwood and his friends. Meanwhile, Ephidel took Ninian to Nergal.

"You have done well, Ephidel," smirked Nergal as he saw Ninian returned to him. Turning to Elbert, he laughed menacingly.

"How do you feel now, Marquess Pherae?" he instigated. "It is destiny. There could be no other outcome. Despite all your mischief, the girl was fated to return to me."

Elbert was livid. "Blackheart!" he yelled in fury. "Where's my son?"

Nergal shrugged. "He's still alive," he told Elbert. "Although, he won't live much longer. It's only a matter of time before the Black Fang finishes him."

Face turning as red as his hair, Elbert lost it. "Nergal, prepare to die!" he yelled as he leapt at Nergal, only to be struck down as he was punched in the stomach by Jaffar. Nergal let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Whew, that was a surprise, when did he undo his bonds?" he wondered. "Hehehe, why don't you heed my warnings, Lord Elbert? You cannot alter destiny, stop this foolishness." Elbert rolled on the floor, out of breath and winded.

"Jaffar, take Marquess Pherae and the girl to the far chamber," Nergal ordered. "I will make preparations for the ritual". Jaffar nodded in acknowledgement.

Meanwhile, Eliwood and the others were rushing into the building, looking for Elbert and Ninian. As they went into the building, they were surrounded by hordes of Black Fang assassins. Leading them was a rather snide-looking paladin.

"Why hello there, I'm Cameron of the Black Fang," he announced. "You've done well to come so far."

"Where's my father?" demanded Eliwood. Cameron laughed.

"He's further inside, young lordling," he told Eliwood. "You never see him, though. Even if you break through here, your path is guarded by Marquess Laus. Why don't you just retreat? Actually, it's too late for that, isn't it? Kill them all, boys!"

As the Black Fang closed in, Eliwood and his group fell into defensive formations. Even though they were significantly outnumbered, the assassins they battled were no stronger nor more skillful than those they fought at the start of their journey. Oswin and Marcus, along with the cavaliers Lowen, Sain and Kent, formed a perimeter around the group, while Rebecca and Wil fired arrows from inside the circle. Dart, Dorcas, Bartre and Hector brought down their axes with unparalleled forces, every time their axes hit someone, a limb would be cut off at the very least. Guy and Lyn moved like the wind, blades dancing like leaves in the wind. They slowly moved forward to where Cameron was. Rushing forward, Lyn jumped onto his horse and kicked him off while Matthew stabbed him in the eye. Seeing their commander get killed, the Black Fang members backed off slightly.

As the battle was raging on, a purple-haired thief in his twenties was sneaking around the Dragon's Gate when he was spotted by a Black Fang member.

"Hey you!" called the assassin. "What are you doing here?" The thief turned around in surprise.

" 'Hey you?' 'What am I doing?' " he replied. "How rude of you. You must be a new recruit, yes? You obviously don't know who I am, don't you?"

The recruit shook his head. "I was assigned to the Dragon's Gate about a month ago," he answered truthfully. The thief snickered.

"I thought as much," he said with genuine amusement. "I'm Legault. Heard of that name before?" The recruit scratched his head. Obviously, the Black Fang hierachy was something he needed to brush up his knowledge on, should he survive this battle.

"Legault... Legault..." he pondered. "Ah! You're the Hurricane? Second in ability to none but the Four Fangs?" The Four Fangs were the four most powerful assassins in the Black Fang, lower in rank than only Brendan Reed, the leader. Legault nodded. The recruit realised his mistake and quickly got to his knee.

"I beg your pardon, Lord Legault," he courtesied. "Forgive my insolence." Legault waved his hand as he walked away.

"No worries, my friend," he told the recruit. Turning his head in the other direction, he shook his head in disgust. "Now then," he whispered to himself. "Time to fill my purse with treasure and get the hell out of the Black Fang, no sense staying on a sinking ship, no sense at all."

The battle between Eliwood's forces and the Black Fang had reached a peak. Dart had received a stab wound to his thigh, while Raven got knocked out by the butt of a spear. As they were moving forward, however, they saw Legault cut down five Black Fang underlings in quick succession as he tried to gather some treasure.

"Who are you?" asked Eliwood as he approached Legault. "Why are you helping us?"

Legault raised his eyebrow. "Who said I was helping you?" he muttered irritably. "But since you mentioned it, I was a former Black Fang member."

Eliwood was confused. "Former?" he asked. Legault smiled and nodded.

"The Black Fang is not what it used to be," he explained. "When I served the Black Fang, we were all like one big family. Now, as you can see, everyone is just being pulled by Nergal's strings." Eliwood nodded. He suspected this already, after hearing from Leila and witnessing how Uhai presented himself.

"In that case, may I asked for your aid?" he requested. "I want to know more about the Black Fang, please." Legault considered it for a moment.

"Do you truly wish to battle the Black Fang?" he asked with surprise. Seeing Eliwood nod, he beamed. "You're rather plucky one," he laughed. "I like you! However, I know almost nothing of the current Black Fang, apart from the fact that Marquess Laus is two rooms away and Marquess Pherae and Nergal are inside, guarding the entrance to the ritual room. I'm Legault, I'll help you on one condition, and that is if the job I am given is safe."

Adding Legault's skills to his group, Eliwood continued his assault on the Dragon's Gate. Two rooms down, just like Legault had said, stood Lord Darin, the Marquess of Laus. Seeing the arrogant man stand with his spear raised, the Lyn and Hector felt hatred boil up their oesophaguses.

"I couldn't care less if you have a grudge against Ostia," growled Hector. "I'll put with your treachery no longer!" Darin laughed maniacally.

"Ostia is no longer my concern, nor is Lycia," he raved. "The only goal left for me is the whole world!" Lyn also stepped up to confront him.

"You madman!" she yelled at him. "How dare you try to kill my grandfather? I, Lyndis, will make you pay!"

"Oh, that senile fool?" Darin snickered. "That wrinkled old fart dared to disagree with me, I'm glad I got rid of him."

Letting out loud cries of fury, Hector and Lyn both charged at the insane man in armour, while approached slowly with caution. Darin twirled his spear around and around, moving with surprising agility. He nearly caught Lyn off-guard twice, only to have his spear intercepted by Eliwood's sword. Realising that she was being played right into the madman's hands, Lyn attacked more cautiously, while Hector brought down his axe menacingly without changing his style. This was when the lordlings realised that combining their efforts in a single formation amplified their potency at least fivefold. Hector remained on the offensive, while any counter-attack that was launch at him by Darin would be intercepted by Eliwood and Lyn, who would then counter-attack in return. Most of the time, Eliwood and Lyn stayed on the defensive, but the formation was freely changeable, according to the situation. Sometimes, Lyn would speed up and go on the offensive, while sometimes Eliwood would also go on the attack. Once the momentum was gained, the three lordlings would attack all at once, pushing Darin into full retreat. When things got tough, they would pull back and erect an impenetrable defensive wall. Seeing the three lordlings fight together so effectively, Darin was beginning to get worried.

"Black Fang members!" he called. "Come and protect me! I am the ruler of this world!" Breaking off their skirmish with the rest of Eliwood's forces, they turned their attention to the lordlings. However, seeing their leaders in trouble, the rest of Eliwood's fighters quickly cut off the Black Fang members from the fight, keeping them at bay. Darin was sweating with trepidation as he was slowly being pushed to the corner of the room by the three-pronged attack from the lordlings. Every attack that he would dish out would be completely nullified by their defensive formation, while every block that he employed would be followed by another attack, each more powerful than the last. After three hundred exchanges, he fatally misjudged his spear thrust, forward momentum propelling him straight into Lyn's sword arc. As heavy and as strong as his armour was, it could not stop the spirit sword from penetrating his chest, leaving a thirty centimetre long gush in it.

As the Black Fang saw the pitiful Marquess Laus fall, they surrendered immediately. While the Black Fang never accepted defeat and would kill themselves before surrendering, they all despised the deranged and deluded man and gladly made the exception. Darin had ranted day and night about how he would rule the world, and it drove them all crazy. They could all see that Ephidel was manipulating him, and like the emperor with no clothes, they contemptuously watched him swallow everything hook, line and sinker.

Darin groaned as his life slipped away from him. Lifting his to his chest, he wiped a smear of blood onto his hand, staring at it in horror and disbelief.

"Blood?" he stammered. "This is my blood? Ephidel, come to me! Your master, the ruler of this world, calls you! I am the ruler of this world, I am the ruler of this world! Someone! I command you to help me!" Everyone in the room stared at him in contempt. Finally realising there was no help left to him and everything promised to him was simply a ruse, Darin could only shed tears of frustration and shame as he died.

"Mad fool..." spat Hector. "Consumed by his own lust, there was nothing left for him apart from this." Eliwood can only look at the dead lunatic in pity. How could someone with such a position, who had so much, lose it all in such a horrible way? Turning to Eliwood, Hector patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on Eliwood, no time for sentiments," he told him. "Your father needs you!" Snapping back to reality, Eliwood nodded and the three lordlings headed into the ritual room to look for Marquess Pherae. The Black Fang members tried to follow them, but found themselves barred by Oswin, Marcus and the others.

The ritual room did not have many lights on, and was pitch black.

"Legault, are you sure my father is in here?" asked Eliwood.

"Of course, it was my business to know such things," came the reply. "You see, I used serve under the name of the Hurricane, and my job was to hunt down traitors. Until I saw how the Black Fang deteriorated, I used to know everyone in the Black Fang and their habits, just in case they betrayed us so I would eliminate them."

Becoming more assured, Eliwood called out to his father loudly. "Dad!" he yelled. "It's me, Eliwood! I've come to save you!" The reply that followed almost caused him faint.

"Eli... Eliwood?" Elbert's voice was so faint and contained almost no energy. It was rasp and sounded like a zombie.

"Back there!" called Lyn. "The voice came from the back of the room!" Sprinting as fast as he could, Eliwood made his way to the far end of the room, where two dim lights were lit. Elbert was lying on the ground in chains, eyes closed and tongue drooping from his mouth.

"Dad!" called Eliwood, his voice shaking. "Are you alright?"

Elbert's eyes suddenly burst open. Grabbing Eliwood's hands, he sat up with great difficulty. "Eliwood, forget about me!" he said shrilly. Pointing to Ninian, who was sitting about two metres away, he ordered: "Take the girl and leave, now!" Eliwood was confused.

"That girl is the key to opening the Dragon's Gate," explained Elbert. "You need to get her away from here, hurry, before Nergal notices you!" Nodding in acknowledgement, Eliwood called out to Ninian: "Ninian, this way, we must get out of here!"

Ninian did not respond. Running up to her, Eliwood was startled to see that while her eyes stared straight ahead, the light in her eyes did not seem to be there.

"Something's wrong with her..." noted Hector. "We don't have time to hesitate, Eliwood, I'll take your father, you take Ninian, let's go!"

Hearing Hector's voice, Elbert seemed glad. "You came too, Hector?" he wheezed. "Thank you..." Lifting the injured marquess onto his shoulder, Hector smiled and said: "Don't worry about that now, come on, let's go!" As they moved about two metres, however, a sudden movement flashed in front of them and a stout man with spiky, dark red hair appeared, blocking their way. It was Jaffar, the Angel of Death.

"You will not pass here," he declared in a cold voice. Eliwood, Hector and Lyn all unsheathed their weapons, preparing for battle.

"You must not fight that man!" called Elbert suddenly as he saw Jaffar appear. "He is dangerous, you cannot defeat him on your own!" Eliwood shook his head.

"Dad, we have no time," he replied. "This is a risk we must take." However, he was quickly subdued when a second man appeared right next to Jaffar. It was Ephidel.

"Be a good boy and listen to your father, young master Eliwood," he hissed. "Even among the Black Fang, this man is feared for his skill. Do you know what his nickname is? It is "The Angel of Death". You are no match for him, even as a group." Turning to Jaffar, he ordered: "You have done well, Jaffar. Your usefulness here has come to an end. Return to Bern and begin your next assignment." Jaffar nodded in submission, then bolted away like the wind.

Smiling evilly in satisfaction, Ephidel faced the lords. "I have an invitation from my master," he told them. "As a reward to your hard-fought arrival, he has prepared a special show for you!" Raising his hand, all of the lights in the room lit up at once. It was a magnificent sight, the room was at least one hundred metres tall, long and wide. A long flight of stairs ran from where Eliwood, Hector and Lyn stood, and at the end was what appeared to be a huge door at least ten metres tall and five metres wide. It was the Dragon's Gate. Next to it, stood a tall, cloaked figure wearing a turban that covered his right eye.

"Stop it, Nergal!" shouted Elbert. "You cannot release the dragons!" Eliwood and the others felt like a cold bucket of water was poured straight down their backs.

"D-d-dragons?" he stuttered. "Dad, what do you mean?" Ephidel laughed as he heard this.

"You will find out shortly, young master Eliwood," he announced as he disappeared and reappeared by Nergal's side. "You will find out at the cost of your father's life!" Lifting his hand, the chains on Elbert flared red like flames. Letting out a blood-churning scream, Elbert fell to the ground from Hector's shoulder and flailed around on the floor like a fish out of water. Seeing his father being tortured, Eliwood rushed forward to his aid, only to to be jolted back as the chains began crackling with lightning. He watched in horror as the lightning arched its way toward Ninian and linked her up with Elbert.

"Now, Ninian," came a cold but clear voice. It was Nergal. "At last, open the Dragon's Gate for me!" Ninian's normally bright red eyes turned clear. Clearly possessed, she raised her arm toward the gate the fired the lightning that came from Elbert into the Dragon's Gate.

"Open... Dragon's... Gate..." she said in voice that echoed through the whole room. "Come... children of flame... come to me..." Suddenly, the ground start rumbling and the ground started shaking. A blinding white light suddenly flowed from the Dragon's Gate and a loud roar was heard. Flames began oozing from the gate as a fire dragon marched from it, a thousand years of hate radiating from every point of its body.

Eliwood, Hector and Lyn's hearts leaped from their mouths. After being driven out of Elibe for a thousand years, no known human has ever encountered a dragon before. Their hearts pounded against their chests feverishly in increasing frequency as adrenaline concentrations increased along with their fear.

"Holy shit, is that truly... a dragon?" yelled Eliwood.

As he watched his plan come to fruition, Nergal could only laugh in triumph. "Yes!" he cried. "Use all your strength! Squeeze every drop from your body! You will call the dragons!"

Suddenly, another voice filled the chamber, this time, it came from the entrance. "I will not allow this!" called a silver-haired boy. Running up to Ninian, he grabbed her shoulder and shook her hard.

"Snap out of it, Ninian!" he cried as he shook her feverishly. "You must not do what they want!" Staring into his equally bright red eyes, Ninian stirred in her trance.

"Nils..." she called. It was indeed Nils, her brother. "Nils..."

Watching the drama unfold, Nergal lost control. "Not now, Nils!" he shouted angrily. "Ephidel! Stop him!" However, Ephidel was unable to move. As Ninian began to snap out of her trance, the Dragon's Gate began to close, and it closed on the dragon, crushing it. The dragon let out one last roar and breathed out all the flames in its body, exploding like a giant firework. Unfortunately for Ephidel, the power released by the dragon was too much for Nergal's servant and pulled him in like a magnet. Seeing the danger, Nergal immediately teleported away from the Dragon's Gate, just seconds before the dragon exploded. The heat released turned the room into an oven, and it quickly subsided as the dragon disappeared.

"No, Nils, you whelp!" barked Nergal in fury as he reappeared behind them. "If it were not for your interference, that dragon would be mine to claim! Come on, both of you, we're going to perform that again!"

Ninian had regained her awareness after snapping out of her trance. "No!" she refused. Nils nodded his support. "We'll never follow you!" he insisted. Nergal was about to lift his hand to curse them when he suddenly stumbled. Elbert had leaped from where he lay and impaled Nergal firmly in the chest with his sword.

"You... will... not!" he growled as he fell to floor, every ounce of energy spent. Nergal screamed in fury.

"Impossible, not by your hand..." he spat, as he pulled the sword out of his body. "Why won't you die, fool?" Although in great pain and severely weakened, Nergal was much too powerful to be killed by such a blow. Elbert laughed as his final act of defiance.

"I told you..." he murmured, spitting up blood in the process. "I will always... oppose you..." Nergal was livid. Releasing pure dark energy in anger, he swept his cloak and disappeared.

"Dad!" called Eliwood as Nergal disappeared. Running up to his father, Eliwood clasped his hands around the matching pair. His heart skipped three beats as the hands that he was holding onto were as cold as ice, and getting colder by the second.

"Be... prepared, my son..." Elbert wheezed as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "He will return, and when he does, you must be ready for him..." Eliwood picked his father up into a sitting position.

"Dad, it's okay," he tried assuring his father, knowing that it was probably too late. "Come on, let's leave this island and go home."

Elbert smiled in acceptance but shook his head. "No, son," he could only whisper. "I'm done here. Nergal will be back... and you must finish this."

"Don't say that, dad!" cried Eliwood desperately. "You can't die like this. Mum is waiting at home, in Pherae. She's waiting for you to come home!" Elbert laughed.

"Hahaha, Eleanora..." he smiled. "She _will_ be cross with me. I can just imagine the look on her face!" Expression turning serious, he continued: "Your mother... she needs you. Tell her I'm sorry... I'm sorry that I had to do this to her... Goodbye, my son, I will always be there for you, in your heart..." With that, he closed his eyes and his hands dropped toward the ground as the muscles supporting them stopped receiving signals from the brain. Eliwood's eyes dilated to their maximum size in shock, while Ninian fainted at the side. Lyn and Hector both tried reviving him, but it was too late.

"Dad!" cried Eliwood as grief and frustration filled every vessel in his body. "Please open your eyes, it's me, Eliwood! Please don't die now, not after all we've done to find you again!" After all that effort, after braving assassins and pirates, he was still too late. Burying his head into his father's sternum, he let out an anguished scream. Elbert, the final guard to Eliwood's childhood, had fallen.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7: The Importance of Kinship_

After his painful reunion and farewell with his father, Eliwood and the others returned to the main continent with his father's body in tow. Along the way, Eliwood remained quiet and stayed on the ship, holding onto his father's freezing cold body, as if holding onto it will warm it up. Seeing the young man return safely, Fargus was delighted, but quickly subdued himself when he saw Eliwood's grief-filled eyes and his father's corpse. Without saying much at all, he gave the group transport back to Badon, where they decided to stay for a few nights and plan their next move before returning to Pherae to bury Elbert's body.

Eliwood was not the only one suffering on the voyage back from Valor. Racked by horrific guilt at the fact that she took Elbert's energy to open the Dragon's Gate, Ninian paced around the ship, unable to eat or sleep. She would repeatedly blame herself for Elbert's death, not listening to Lyn's pleas for her to stop. Having regained her memory after reuniting with Nils only added salt to the wound. After returning to Badon, her condition began to improve.

"Are you feeling better, Ninian?" asked Lyn as they sat around the table in her room. It was a quiet, warm evening in the port town of Badon. Ninian nodded in response.

"Good," Lyn sighed in relief. Turning to Nils, who was sitting next Ninian, she greeted him: "You've really grown, Nils, it's really been a long time no see."

"It really seems to have been too long, Lady Lyndis," Nils greeted in response. "It's only been one year, but so much has happened since we left you in Caelin."

Sitting on the side without a clue on what they were saying, Hector slapped his hand on the table irritably. "Care to talk about things that the rest of us can follow?" he asked. Lyn nudged him angrily.

"Nils, Ninian," she began the introduction. "This is Hector, Marquess Ostia's brother. Don't let his attitude fool you. He acts really mean, but he's decent enough." Hector laughed heartily.

" 'Acts mean' seems pretty mean to me!" he chortled. Gesturing to Eliwood, Lyn continued: "You might remember Eliwood, here."

Nils nodded in recognition. "I remember," he said sombrely. "He was the one who saved Ninian last year." Ninian turned her head to Eliwood in surprise. When Eliwood had saved her from the Black Fang in the previous year, she was unconscious at the time. She had never thanked him for the deed.

"You're Lord Elbert's son, aren't you?" Nils continued. "Your red hair, gentle eyes, even a gentle voice. You're just like him."

Hearing his father's name, Eliwood felt great pain in his chest. However, he was surprised that Nils knew so much about him.

"Where did you meet my father?" he asked quietly.

"At the Dragon's Gate," Nils answered. "He set us free after we were captured. We escaped in a small boat, but I was thrown out of it when a storm hit us. When I woke up, I was back on Valor. I hid myself in the ruins for a while, but then after a few days, what I sensed almost drove me insane. When I raced to the Dragon's Gate, I saw everything... and I did what I could." Ninian sighed apologetically.

"When we pulled Ninian from the boat, she had lost her memory," Lyn explained. "I can't believe we would brought her right back to her captors. I'm sorry, we made a horrible mistake."

Ninian shook her head as hard as she could. "Lady Lyn, you did nothing wrong," she spoke as fast she could. "When Nils fell overboard, I did not know what to do and completely lost it. If only I had been stronger, all of this... all of this... could have have avoided. Everything comes down to mine incompetence, I am truly sorry." Standing up, she bowed to everyone three times.

"Ninian's power is greater than mine," explained Nils. "However, it costs her more physical and mental strength. Nergal exploited it..."

"Was he after you because you have the power to call dragons?" Eliwood asked him. Nils shook his head.

"Nergal can do that on his own," he clarified. "I think it's because we can open the Dragon's Gate. It requires a tremendous amount of quintessence, though." The three young lords stared at each other in confusion. "Quintessence is what Nergal calls human power, spirit or energy," Nils continued. "It is the essence of life itself. Nergal stole this quintessence. Those whose quintessence is stolen die. Neither Ninian or I have that power. Nergal needed to gather a large amount of quintessence to be able handle dragons. He sent his henchman, Ephidel, to get close to Marquess Laus. He sought to plant the seeds of war in Darin's power-hungry heart."

"Why?" asked Eliwood, although he had a vague idea, and it horrified him. Nils went on with his story.

"It seems the quintessence in each person varies in strength. A person of strong body and mind has hundreds times more energy than the average person. There doesn't appear to be many people like that, though. It took too long for Nergal to find people with enough quintessence. Although it would take time, Nergal thought the easiest way to get that much quintessence was by starting a war."

Hector slammed his palm on the table in disgust. "So he planned to make up quality with quantity?" he spat. "Is that it? What a black-hearted fiend! Are men nothing but pawns to him?" Nils looked at him sadly.

"Unfortunately, that's what he wanted," he sighed. "Ephidel brought Lord Elbert to the Dragon's Gate. He said he had found the ideal source they had sought. Nergal's plans for war were stopped, but yet, he was happy. He had taken so much energy from the knights of Pherae. He was sure he could get even better quintessence from Lord Elbert-" He was stopped when Lyn suddenly snapped at him to stop. "I'm sorry about that, Lord Eliwood," he apologised quickly.

Although grateful to Lyn for her concern, he wanted to know the truth from Nils. "It's all right, Nils," he dismissed. "When I found my father at the Dragon's Gate, I knew his knights were no longer alive..."

"Your father told us that he had a son," Nils went on. "He said you were blessed with natural fighting ability, but you were also compassionate and hated fighting. He told us that his son would be a far better ruler than he would have been. He also told us that he would sooner sacrifice himself than to see his homeland of Lycia embroiled in the flames of war. When we had lost all hope at the Dragon's Gate, your father always spoke to us of happy things. He mainly told us of his beloved wife and son. Ninian and I loved him very much. His stories about his family were what gave us hope and saved us."

As he heard this, Eliwood could not endure missing his father any more and burst into tears. Hearing about his father's kindness and chivalry reminded him too much of what he had lost. Nils squirmed guiltily as he watched Eliwood's reaction.

"We should leave him alone to grieve for a while," sighed Hector. "Come on, Ninian, Nils, Lyn, let's go outside." Lyn, Hector and Nils all went outside. However, Ninian stayed perfectly still. As the others went out, she could not help but cry in grief as well. Elbert had saved them, and all she had done was to cause make his son sad. After a few minutes, Eliwood pulled himself together and noticed Ninian sitting next to him.

"Ninian? I thought you went out with the others," he whispered. "I'm sorry about just then. I just needed time to think things over." Ninian stayed silent, not knowing how to respond.

"You should get some rest," Eliwood continued. "You've had a rough time and you really don't look good now." Ninian turned around to look at him with tears around the brim of her bright red eyes.

"Um, Lord Eliwood," she stuttered. "I would like to thank you." Eliwood raised his eyebrow.

"What is it?" he asked. "Why the formality?"

Ninian sighed. "You were the one who helped me one year ago, when I was captured by the Black Fang," she explained. "I apologise. At the time, I had lost consciousness, and I fear that I have never thanked you properly."

Eliwood smiled to show her that the thanks were well received. "Don't let it concern you," he told her. "I wanted to help." Seeing that Ninian was still wearing her guilty look, he had an idea.

"If you're still feeling guilty, why don't you show me some of your dancing next time you're free?" he suggested. "I heard your dances are supposed to be sacred. Why not show me one of your special dances?" Ninian thought about it for moment, and smiled for the first time in months.

"I would be glad to," she agreed. "Anything for you."

"I'll be looking forward to it," said Eliwood happily. Patting down Ninian's dusty clothes, he scolded her gently: "Look at you, you have scratches and bruises everywhere. We really need to get you fixed up." Hearing Eliwood's concern took Ninian completely by surprise. She had never met anyone who had cared about her well-being apart from Nils. People tended to ostracise the siblings. "Why?" she asked.

Eliwood almost fell off his chair. "What?" he asked. "You're in a bad shape. I'm offering to help you, am I doing anything wrong?" Ninian shook her head feverishly.

"Why was Lord Elbert... Lord Eliwood, why were you both... so kind to us?" she stuttered as she burst into fresh tears. "Everything that has transpired, everything... is my fault! These nightmares, all these terrible things, are my doing!"

Shaking his head in disbelief and pity, Eliwood could only say: "Ninian, crying ill suits someone of your beauty. I'm fine now, just don't cry." Taking her hand gently with his own, he looked her squarely in the eye.

"Ninian, there's something you must hear," he told her seriously. "You are not responsible for what happened to my father. You suffered as much as he did. Please don't punish yourself further."

Ninian sighed regretfully. "You mean this, Lord Eliwood, from the heart?" she asked. Eliwood nodded.

"Of course," he replied. "I'm a man of my word. You know that, Ninian." Ninian was so grateful that she burst into tears again, this time of happiness, happiness that she has at last found someone that would wholeheartedly accept her and not look down on her like some kind of freak. Suddenly, her eyes burst open in alert.

"Be careful," she warned. "Enemies draw near!"

o0o

As Eliwood and Ninian stayed inside the room, Hector, Lyn and Nils went outside to get some fresh air.

"I wonder what happened to Nergal," wondered Lyn. "Lord Elbert gave him a pretty hefty-looking wound when he stabbed him."

"His wounds won't kill him," Nils said as-a-matter-fact-ly. "Nergal uses quintessence on himself as well. His wounds heal very quickly and his body does not age."

Lyn sighed in despair. "So he's not a human?" she asked.

"If anything, he's..." Nils began to explain when suddenly he stopped and looked over the shoulders of Lyn and Hector. "Call everyone!" he called out in alarm. "Enemies approach!"

Hector sighed with annoyance. "Bah," he spat. "They've caught up to us already? Eliwood deserves a little more time to rest. We should be able to handle this by ourselves, right?" Just as he was about to launch himself into the battle, Eliwood sprinted out of the inn as he was warned by Ninian of the impending attack.

"Here you all are!" he called. "Listen, get ready for battle! I want this over as quickly as possible so we can protect the villagers. Take out the enemy commander, and drive them out of here!" Seeing Eliwood up and about and seemingly fine, Hector and Lyn were pleasantly surprised. Turning to Nils, Hector ordered: "Hey, little guy, go hide inside!"

"What?" Nils stammered outrageously. "I can help you out!" Lyn hushed him toward the door.

"Nils, you are a great help, but shouldn't you be with Ninian right now?" she implored him. Defeated and disappointed, Nils sighed, nodded in agreement and went back into the inn.

As he walked back into the inn, he saw Ninian sit at the table, staring at the spot where Eliwood had grabbed her hand, blushing profusely. A spectrum of emotions ran through her heart. Happiness, guilt, grief, relief and a twinge of embarrassment hit her all at once.

"Ninian?" called Nils with concern. "Are you alright?" Snapping out of her trance, Ninian turned to face her younger brother.

"Oh, Nils," she said quietly. "Has the battle started?" As she finished saying this, she suddenly heard the sounds of metal clashing with metal. It had started. Turbulent emotions ran through her as she listened to the fight. Every scream pierced her ears like needles. Getting up, she paced toward the door as fast as she could, only to be held back by Nils.

"Ninian, stop!" he pleaded. "Where are you going?" Pulling herself free, she declared resolutely: "I'm going to help them!"

Nils stared at her in incredulity. "You can't!" he argued. "You're still much too weak!"

Ninian shook her head. "I merely wish to help Lord Eliwood... if only a little," she implored. "I stole his father's life from him. I know this will never make up for it, but please understand, Nils..." 'It will never be able to make up for his kindness either,' she added in her own mind. Nils could only sigh in acceptance.

"Ninian, I understand," he accepted. "Give me your hands, I'll give you some of my power. You'll just get in the way if you go out like this." Grabbing her hands, he passed a burst of energy as a light suddenly flashed from the point of contact.

"Whew!" he puffed. "That should do it. Help them for me, too." Ninian could only nod graciously as she walked out of the inn.

"Lord Eliwood!" she called as she saw him battle in formation with Hector and Lyn. Surprised to see her outside, the three young lords quickly moved to her, shielding her from any potential attackers.

"Ninian?" Eliwood gasped as he tried hushing her back into the inn. "You should not be out here, it's too dangerous!" However, Ninian had other ideas. Shaking her head, she told him: "Please allow me to help." Eliwood almost lost his balance when he heard this.

"Help?" he asked incredulously. "I have no intention on making you fight." Ninian did not answer. Instead she started a short dance. Twirling and weaving in and out, mysterious energy was passed to Eliwood in her eight bar dance.

"What is this?" gasped Eliwood in awe. "I'm wrapped in some sort of energy!" Ninian pointed to the ring on her hand.

"I used the magic of Ninis' Grace and danced for you, Lord Eliwood," she explained. Ninis' Grace was her mother's ring, which was imbued with magic power. "It will not last very long, but when it does, you have additional protection. Please allow me... to remain at your side." Seeing how eager she was to join him, Eliwood could not find the heart to turn her away.

"Very well," he conceded. "If it will make you feel better, feel free to join us. Let's rejoin the battle, don't leave my side." Beaming, Ninian nodded.

"Thank you, Lord Eliwood," she said gratefully. "You, Lord Hector and Lady Lyn work in a formation, do you not? If I stay in the centre of the formation, my dances can be used to shift energy between the three of you accordingly." Nodding in acknowledgement, Eliwood, Hector and Lyn rejoined the battle, this time with Ninian in the middle of the triangle. True to her word, Ninian was quickly moved vast amounts of energy between the lords with her dance. Most of the time, she would draw power from Eliwood and Lyn and fed it to Hector, since he was the one on the offensive most of the time. With the additional energy being transferred to him, there was absolutely nothing that could block Hector's assaults. The ones that tried were quickly punished when his axe would snap even the most refined of metal in half. Moving toward the edge of town, they saw a tough-looking warrior wielding a large axe.

"Are you commander of this group?" Eliwood called the man. The warrior let out a loud laugh that reverberated through the town.

"I bring a message from my master," he told Eliwood. "It says 'return the children to me'. I don't know why he should bother with that message, when I can just take them, hehehehe." Eliwood felt his blood boil. Even after being humbled by his father, Nergal was still creeping around, sending assassins to make his and his friend's lives difficult.

"You'll never get them!" he roared angrily as he charged forward to fight the warrior. After doing nothing apart from fighting against the Black Fang for the past few weeks, Eliwood's natural gift for fighting had been refined to new heights. After about thirty exchanges, he easily disarmed the assassin and pointed his sword at the man's chest.

"Leave now, and I will spare your life," he ordered. "Take your men with you, tell Nergal that in the name of my father, I will destroy him with my own hands!" The warrior laughed heartily.

"Fool," he muttered. "Do you think we, the Black Fang are so cowardly?" Taking out a vial from his pocket, he drank its contents. Within a minute, he started convulsing uncontrollably and thirty seconds later, he had collapsed and died horribly.

Seeing the man take his own life, Eliwood could only feel a twinge of regret. 'These Black Fang assassins really are determined,' he thought.

"Eliwood, are you alright?" asked Hector as he walked up to his friend. Looking up, Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes, sorry to worry you," he replied. "We'll have time for mourning when this is all finished. For now, in my father's name, I will do everything I can to stop Nergal and protect our lands." Turning to Ninian, he smiled and patted her on the back. "You did well, Ninian," he complemented. "I never knew you could do what you did."

Ninian smiled in return. Being by Eliwood's side made her feel more complete. "Thank you, Lord Eliwood," she replied, blushing profusely at the same time. Turning back to Hector, Eliwood put on a more serious face.

"We need to see Marquess Ostia, Hector," he told his friend. Hector stared at him with annoyance on his face.

"Why do we need to see my brother?" he asked irritably.

"After all that we've been through, we can't not report this to him, can we?" Eliwood shrugged. Seeing Hector suddenly becoming peeved, Lyn was confused.

"Hector, why the odd expression?" she asked. Eliwood snickered and explained: "Hector doesn't want to meet Lord Uther. He's been lax in contacting him ever since leaving and is afraid to meet him, right?"

Hector found himself going red. "How do you expect me to send him messages when we've been flying around like mozzies, bumping into things we don't want to bump into?" he snapped. Eliwood laughed even harder.

"Ooooh, Hector, he's going to be sooo mad at you!" he teased, as Hector jumped at him in fury and chased him around the town. Lyn sighed in relief at the sight of the two best friends playing with each other.

"They're both in good spirits, it's better than giving into despair, I suppose," she whispered quietly to herself. Beside her, Ninian nodded in agreement.

The next morning, Eliwood and Hector decided to send Elbert's casket back to Pherae before heading to Ostia to meet with Lord Uther.

"Lord Eliwood, are you feeling better?" Marcus asked with concern. Turning to face him, Eliwood looked sombre.

"I'm fine, Marcus," he replied as he nodded. "I know I've worried you."

"About Lord Elbert..." Marcus continued. "At my own discretion, I sent a messenger to Lady Eleanora as soon as we arrived back on the mainland. I thought she should know as soon as possible. The marquess' final moments were so... very... noble. Forgive me for not consulting you."

Eliwood sighed at the complement. "I see, thank you, Marcus," he replied. "That was well done. If you needed my approval for everything, we'll be stuck for long, long time." As they were ready to go, a female suddenly called to them from behind: "Lord Eliwood, Commander Marcus!" It was Isadora, the blue-haired female knight who was assigned to protect Eliwood's mother.

Eliwood got off his horse to greet Isadora. "Isadora, what are you doing here?" he asked with surprise. "Has something happened to my mother?"

Isadora shook her head. "Lady Eleanora is well," she replied. "When word of Lord Elbert's death reached her yesterday, she did not say a single word. She merely gave the messenger her full attention. After that, she commanded that I come to your side and guard you with my life."

Eliwood's eye expanded in response. "But..." he stuttered. "The castle's defenses will be shorthanded..." Isadora sighed deeply.

"Lord Eliwood, please," she implored. "Understand Lady Eleanora's feelings. Lord Elbert is not returning. All she can do now is pray for your well-being. Her message to you, which I will deliver now, was 'Obey your father's dying wish'."

Marcus nodded in agreement. "When we get to Ostia, why not petition for reinforcements to protect Castle Pherae?" he suggested.

Eliwood thought it was a workable idea. "Good thinking, Marcus," he conceded. "I guess it would my mother's fears and bow to her wishes." Turning to Isadora, he told her seriously: "Our battles are like nothing you've ever prepared for. Are you ready to face them, Isadora?"

Isadora stood erect and bowed. "Yes, I will serve you with my life!" she declared.

On the side, Dart was getting to leave with them. Fargus had ordered him to accompany Eliwood in his journey. However, after calling Badon home for the last five years, he seemed reluctant to leave. Suddenly he felt a small body bump into him. It was Rebecca.

"Hey, watch it, girlie!" he muttered angrily. Turning around to apologise, Rebecca looked into his eyes and gasped in recognition.

"It _is_ you!" she cried. "Aren't you my brother?" Dart was rather taken aback.

"Who's your brother, what's his name?" he asked. Rebecca stared at him in confusion.

"My brother's name was Dan..." she mumbled. Dart snorted.

"Looks like you got wrong person," he told her. "I'm Dart, leader of Captain Fargus' suicide squad!" Seeing Rebecca's horrified expression, he continued: "Haha, that's the reaction I like to see! You don't just go walking up to any man and taking his arm, missie!" Laughing, he walked, leaving a stunned Rebecca in his wake.

Hundred of kilometres away in a dark shack, a tall man and two beautiful but eerie women met together.

"Sonia, Limstella," Nergal called. "You are here, good."

"You called for us, Lord Nergal?" answered a scantily-dressed woman with jet black hair, blood red lips and golden eyes. This woman was Sonia.

"My wound needs time..." growled Nergal with fury laced in his voice. "It was a deep cut, and now, my strength has been severely compromised. The one who did this to me is dead." Picking a glass of water that was on the table, he crushed it angrily, spilling its contents everywhere. "I want his son's death as compensation," he hissed. "Sonia, you will use Brendan to move the Black Fang. I do not want those failures of underlings now. I want the Four Fangs to carry out this task."

Sonia snickered happily. "Tee hee hee, leave it to me," she assured him. "I'll have them bowing their heads to you, my lord." Satisfied with the answer, Nergal then turned to Limstella, who unlike Sonia, was dressed in a far more modest, almost military-ish clothes.

"Limstella, I want you to gather me quintessence," he ordered. "For this injury to heal, I will need a lot of it. You are the strongest of my morphs. Kill anyone who shows great power and bring their quintessence to me." Limstella bowed in acknowledgement.

"Thy will be done," she obeyed. Turning to leave, the two women disappeared to carry out their duties.

o0o

In the headquarters of the Black Fang, Sonia had called for a meeting for the Four Fangs. She had married Brendan a year ago. Walking out with the imposing hulk of flesh that was Brendan Reed, she called the Four Fangs to attention. While Brendan was a chivalrous and intelligent man, every time he was in Sonia's presence, he would lose himself to his lust. With Brendan losing his conscience every time she was close to him, she took advantage of this and slowly worked the Black Fang's operations in Nergal favour.

"Jaffar, Ursula, Lloyd, Linus," she counted their attendance. "You are all here, good. If I have you, the Four Fangs together, I need no-one else." The four names called were the names of the Four Fangs, the four commanders with the highest positions in the Black Fang with the exception of Brendan Reed himself. Jaffar was the assassin that was present at the Dragon's Gate, nicknamed the 'Angel of Death'. Ursula was a middle-aged blue haired woman who was one of the most powerful valkyries in Bern. Her nickname was the 'Blue Crow'. Lloyd and Linus were the elder and younger son of Brendan, respectively. Lloyd was handsome man of approximately twenty five years of age, with messy brown hair and a slight beard. His swordsmanship was rumoured to be unparalleled, earning him the nickname of the 'White Wolf'. Finally, Linus was tall and bulky man. Unlike his brother, who was calm and composed, Linus was reckless and easily angered. His power was what separated him from the rest, allowing him to dubbed the 'Mad Dog'.

"I have need of you to eliminate a man whose living has plagued me," Sonia issued her orders. "His name is Eliwood, a noble of Pherae." Jaffar stood silently and nodded in acknowledgement. Ursula thought carefully about it.

"Pherae is located in Lycia, isn't it?" she clarified. Sonia nodded.

"That's right," she said. "However, he is not a simple country lord. He has friends, other Lycian nobles. Individually, they should be no match for for you, but still, carelessness invites death." Nodding in acknowledgement, Ursula replied: "I won't make that mistake, Lady Sonia, I will fulfill my duty." Satisfied, Sonia turned to the Reed brothers.

"Lloyd, Linus, you heard what you have do, haven't you?" she asked them sweetly. Lloyd cleared his throat and eyed Sonia suspiciously.

"I have one question," he said clearly. "Are these our father's orders... I mean, the orders of the head of the Black Fang, or are they your orders?" Sonia's eyes contracted in fury, but quickly recovered.

"Why naturally," she sneered with a honey sweet voice. Caressing her body against Brendan's Reed she seductively purred: "Isn't that right, my beloved?" With Sonia's soft and gentle body moving against his own, Brendan closed his eyes dreamily. "Mmm..." he let out blissfully. "Why yes, of course."

Satisfied with her answer, Sonia stood up straight again. "There, are you happy?" she chided irritably. "Remove Eliwood. Your orders come from the head of the Black Fang, Brendan Reed himself. As members of this group, you will follow them, am I correct? Or... are you a coward and your enemy frightens you, Lloyd?"

Hearing the woman insult her brother, Linus drew his sword and pointed it at her. "Sonia!" he yelled. "How dare you insult my brother like that?" Using his sword sheath, Lloyd pushed the blade away.

"Peace, Linus," he scolded. Turning back to Sonia, he continued: "We do not need to be berated by you, Sonia. Under our father, we are the ones who have carried out the law of the Fang. If this Eliwood truly is corrupt lord, an evil person, there will no reason for us to hesitate. The Fangs let none escape. We, the Reed brothers, dispense the Fang's justice."

Snickering in satisfaction, Sonia disbanded the meeting. "Your target's name is Eliwood, noble of Pherae!" she ordered for the last time. "Bring him down, on the Black Fang's honour!"

o0o

After travelling for a day, Eliwood and his friends arrived at the bustling city of Ostia. A trade city and the capital of Lycia, the streets were filled with people. Hector led Eliwood and the others into a small fort just on the outskirts of the city.

"I have word from my brother," he told Eliwood. "He's on his way here, we're to wait for him here."

"Why is Lord Uther is coming here himself?" Eliwood stammered in surprise.

Hector laughed mirthlessly. "I told you this before, but Castle Ostia, as well as the city itself is infested with foreign spies," he explained. "I assume he thinks that we'll be able to converse more openly here."

Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "I don't understand, wouldn't leaving Ostia attract even more attention?" he asked. Hector shrugged.

"I don't know, mate," he answered. "Apparently he's going to be travelling in secret with only a few attendants. My brother's really skilled at all this secrecy bullshit, he'd be the perfect assassin. There's no need to worry."

In another room, Ninian and Nils were having tea that was being served by the Ostian guard. Ninian was recounting the events of the previous night, while Nils was daydreaming.

"Nils, are you alright?" Ninian asked him with concern. "You seem distant..." Nils looked her woozily.

"I'm alright," he replied with a yawn. "If we can sit still for one night, I'll be bet-ter..." Suddenly, the boy collapsed, sending adrenaline pumping through Ninian's body.

"Nils?" she screamed. "No, wake up! Wake up for me!"

Hearing her scream in alarm, Lyn, Hector and Eliwood all rushed to her aid. Ninian's composure was quickly evaporating. "Nils, Nils, Nils!" she called repeatedly as she shook him as hard as she could. Remembering how she had lost her memory after watching Nils being washed into the sea, Eliwood grabbed her carefully and attempted to calm her down.

"Let's move him to the back room and call a healer," suggested Hector. However, this seemed to make Ninian even more agitated.

"You must not move him!" she cried shrilly, which elicited looks of confusion from the three lordlings. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "I... um... just for now, please don't move him. Just one night's rest, that should make things right."

Eliwood sighed. While he was concerned for Nils' well-being, he did not want to argue with her, knowing that it would lead to further trouble. "Just do what she says," he said quietly. "She must have her reasons." Ninian looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Lord Hector," she apologised.

Meanwhile, outside the fort, a middle-aged, green-haired man sat on his horse next to another green-haired man about twenty years younger than him, who was sitting on a wyvern.

"So... this is where the Pheraen noble and his friends are, is it?" asked the middle aged man. The younger man nodded. "Yes, Commander Eubans," he replied.

The one named Eubans laughed heartily. "Very well, Heath, your unit will attack from the west of the fortress," he told the young man. "Your mission is to kill the entire group. Make no mistakes." Heath looked at him in shock.

"Are you serious, commander?" he gasped. "Marquess Laus abandoned us and vanished. We have no reason to engage this group!" Eubans was the leader of a mercenary group that served Marquess Laus. As Darin and his army was attacked by Eliwood, he sent urgent calls of help to Eubans' mercenaries, inviting them to join the battle. However, when Eubans sent a group of his mercenaries to Laus, Darin had already left.

"We answered Marquess Laus' call, and we will honour our duty," Eubans explained irritably. "In any case, we cannot remain in Lycia any longer anyway since we rebelled against Ostia. Our entire group is being hunted. If we can take their heads, we might be able to join the Black Fang in Bern."

Heath shook his head stubbornly. "I'm opposed to this plan," he retorted. "There are women and children in their group. What you ask is something no knight or man could do without being ashamed." Eubans raised his head into the air and laughed out loud.

"Listen, Heath," he sneered. "You're a wanted man, a fugitive from Bern. How about we take you over to Bern and hand you over to their wyvern riders? We'll get a nice hefty reward, and given some honest work, we may even be knighted!" Heath squirmed when he heard this. He was a deserter from one of the wyvern knight squads in Bern because he refused to take an order from a superior. With nowhere to go, he joined Eubans' mercenaries to continue making a living.

"Ha, I didn't think so," Eubans snickered as he saw Heath's reaction. Patting Heath on the shoulder, he continued: "Come on, now, everyone wants to save their own skin. Get your unit together, and we attack!"

As the mercenaries attacked, a soldier ran straight up to Hector and reported the situation. "Lord Hector, we're under attack!" he called. Hector sighed in disappointment.

"Why do these assassins always show up at the wrong time?" he muttered as he rolled his eyes. "Come on, Eliwood, let's go and drive them out!" Stepping into their formation, the three young lords and Ninian marched into battle. As they move out, however, a green-haired young man on a wyvern walked up to them with his hands in the air.

"Do you command this group?" he asked Eliwood. "I'm Heath, a wyvern rider serving Eubans' mercenaries. I wish to surrender to you." Surprised, the three lordlings lowered the weapons slightly.

"Surrender? Why?" asked Eliwood.

"I have no wish to harm women and children," he explained. "I'm a soldier, but I'm trying to be human, too." Eliwood nodded in understanding.

"I understand, but it'll be hard to guarantee your safety because we're under attack," he told Heath, who smiled and waved his hand to show that it was okay.

"That's fine," he said. "I'll fight alongside you, when the time comes, I will stop Commander Eubans with my lance."

The battle went on for another half an hour. Eliwood and his friends were madly defending the base, while Eubans' mercenaries attacked with everything they had. It was at this time when a young Sacaen nomad and his two mercenary friends arrived from the side of the battle. With his bow, the nomad shot down three of Eubans' men in quick succession, clearing a path for him to meet up with the lordlings.

"So you are being hunted again, Lyn of the Lorca?" he called out. Lorca was the name of Lyn's eliminated tribe. The nomad's name was Rath. He was the son of chief of the Kutolah Clan, the dominating tribe of plains in Sacae. A year ago, he served House Araphen, another nation in the Lycian League. As Lyn went to reunite with her grandfather in Caelin, she had requested help from Marquess Araphen. Rath was the one who saved Lyn from an assassin as she entered the city of Araphen. However, when she went to meet the marquess, he refused her help when he found out that she had Sacaen heritage in her veins. Witnessing the injustice shown to his people, Rath resigned from his post and joined Lyndis' Legion who then went on to topple Lundgren's takeover attempt of Caelin. Seeing the young nomad, Lyn could only let out a gasp of surprise and happiness.

"Rath of the Kutolah!" she gasped. "Well met, what are you doing here?"

Rath was a strong and silent type. Quietly, he replied: "After we parted company, I've made my way as a mercenary here. Do you need my help?" Lyn raised her eyebrow.

"Are you offering?" she asked him. Rath nodded and answered: "If you desire it..." Smiling happily, Lyn leapt to shake his hand.

"Yes, please!" she smiled. "Lend us your strength, we're involved in something terribly dangerous!"

With the help of Rath's accurate shooting and additional Ostian reinforcements, Eliwood and his friends were able to push back Eubans' mercenaries. Slowly but surely, the trio made their way to Eubans, who was directing his troops from his horse. Hector charged forward and threw a fallen axe from the ground at Eubans, who promptly dodged it. 'I couldn't imagine that they were this capable,' he thought. "I won't lose," he muttered to himself. "I live and breath the air of battle!" Charging forward, he stabbed his lance toward Hector, which was promptly nudged aside by Eliwood's blade. Jumping up, Lyn kicked the man off his horse as Hector charged in for the kill. Getting straight back up, Eubans swept his lance around and knocked Hector over. Moving like the wind, Lyn slashed down with the Mani Katti in a perfect arc, cutting Eubans' lance in two, and then followed up with a quick stab to the chest. Looking up at the girl, Eubans shook his head in defeat.

"I have no regrets," he grunted as he died. "My life and my death are my own!"

Seeing their commander fall, the mercenaries had no more reason to fight and the next in command sounded the retreat. Concerned for Nils, Ninian ran straight inside to check up on him. He was still lying motionlessly on the floor, but seemed alive and well.

"Lord Uther is here!" called a soldier suddenly while Hector squirmed uncomfortably. Walking into the fort, tall and imposing, was Marquess Ostia, flanked by two of his bodyguards.

"So Hector, you're alive after all," he boomed as he stepped into the fort. "You were gone for so long, that if you waited another day to contact me, I might have arranged you a funeral rite already." Hector went red in the face. Scratching his head, he mumbled: "Sorry mate, been a little busy."

Uther smiled and laughed. "Yes, I know you have been, Leila's final report covered a lot," he admitted. Turning to Eliwood, he continued: "I'm sorry about Lord Elbert, Eliwood, I was powerless to help." Brushing it aside, Eliwood quickly responded: "Nothing could have been done, sir. More importantly, do you know about Nergal?"

Uther shrugged. "I only know what has been reported to me," he replied. "From what I have read in the report, he appeared about a year ago and seized control of the Black Fang. After that, he ensnared Laus in a plot to rebel against Ostia. I can't see what he's after here."

"After looking for my father, I think we have an answer," Eliwood answered. "He wants to bring back the dragons that vanished after the Scouring." Uther's eyes almost popped out.

"What? How can that be done?" he gasped. Eliwood explained everything, how the Dragon's Gate was the portal to the dragon's world, how Nergal can use Nils or Ninian to open the Dragon's Gate, and how he kills people for their quintessence. Uther's jaw dropped continuously as he listen to Eliwood explain his story. As Eliwood finished talking, he sighed and told them to wait outside while he thought of what to do.

"Wow, this even has my brother brooding," Hector noted with amazement. "He always makes quick decisions, but now he wants more time. That has never happened before." Lyn sighed as she reflected on their situation.

"It's gone from a simple rebellion to something that threatens the entire human race," she mused. "Even though we saw it with our own eyes, it is so unbelievable." Hector nodded in acknowledgement.

"I wonder what would happen next," he thought aloud. "Ideally, we could bring everyone of our lands and fight as one, like in the Scouring. However, this all hinges on the existence of dragons themselves. Unless dragons actually appear, no-one would believe us."

"We have to stop all of this now," Eliwood said with determination. "We're the only one who know enough to do anything about it." Hector slammed his fist into the table in agreement.

"There we have it!" he stated loudly. "Come on, let's speak to my brother, now!" Getting up, they knocked on the door to where Uther was waiting. "Ninian," called Eliwood. "Would you come with us, too?" Without anything else to do, she reluctantly followed them into the room.

"I really don't want place this burden on your shoulders alone," Uther began. "However, I can see no other choice for me. Hector, Eliwood, Lyndis, are you prepared to act on your resolve?" All three of the lordlings nodded passionately.

"I will try to aid you all as much as I can," continued Uther. "Good luck to you all, then. Oh, what about the girl, here?"

"It's an honour to meet you, Marquess Ostia," Ninian greeted bashfully. Stepping to her side, Eliwood explained: "Both Ninian and her brother, Nils, possess special powers."

Uther raised his eyebrow. "Is that so?" he marvelled. "Then I would like to ask you, Ninian, do you know where Nergal is now?"

Ninian closed her eyes and probed her surroundings. "I sense him," she said quietly. "To the east... he is very far away..."

A worried expression immediately clouded over Uther's face. "That bodes ill," he muttered. "Bern's military is possibly the best on the continent. If he ensnares it, we're done for."

"There is still time," Ninian piped up. "He is still... very weak... we must act now." Hector nodded in agreement. "We have no choice but to depart for Bern," he decided.

Uther shook his head. "If you have time, go to Missur," he told them. Hector shot him a surprised look.

"Missur?" he exclaimed incredulously. "That's the complete opposite direction!"

"Go to the Nabata desert, and you may find aid there," Uther ordered. "Go and meet the living legend." With this, he dismissed them. Eliwood walked out extremely confused, but trusted Lord Uther's judgement.

"Well, we'll be going, brother," Hector bade farewell, keen to get away as soon as possible. Uther, however was not finished with him.

"I'm not done with you, yet," he muttered irritably. "Take care of yourself. You need to be Eliwood's support and strength."

Hector nodded. "I know," he whinged. "This has gotten so out of hand, yet it's not entirely hopeless. Lord Elbert's death needn't be in vain. We won't lose."

Uther snickered. "You're beginning to sound reasonable..." Suddenly Hector let out an "Ah!", which got Uther's attention.

"Your facial colour..." Hector noted. "You don't look so good. What's wrong?"

Uther shrugged, signalling nothing was wrong. "I just heard a tale that would scare the shit out of anyone," he replied. "When I think that the future of the world rests the shoulders of such reckless lout such as yourself, I realise my life has been too short. You should get going, your friends are waiting." Hector laughed heartily.

"That's more like my brother," he smiled. "Pardon my over-long visit. I will take my leave of you, then, _most honoured_ elder brother!"

Patting his brother on the back, Uther bid his farewell. "Remember, Hector," he told him. "I have not given you permission to die. Heed the orders of your marquess and return to me alive."

Giving his brother a fist salute, Hector replied: "Of course I won't. I'll bring you back a tale you won't believe."


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8: The Living Legend of the Nabata Desert_

Heeding Marquess Ostia's directions, Eliwood and his friends marched toward the Nabata desert. After about a week of virtually non-stop travel, they reached the edge of the desert. It was a land of scorching days and freezing nights, and the sand made it extremely difficult for the group to progress forward. It was hard to find anywhere to live, since practically no-one lived there.

"It's... so... hot..." Nils breathed deliriously as they walked through the desert. Sweat rolled down the side his face like rivers. "I'm going to die..." Seeing the boy about to faint again, Hector offered to carry him on his back.

"This isn't some fever dream, is it, Lord Hector?" Nils said amusingly. "Such kindness from you surprises me." Hector looked quite hurt at this remark.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked indignantly. "I was concerned that might collapse like the other day again."

Lyn laughed as the two quarrelled. "You're usually so rough, Hector, no wonder he's confused," she giggled. "Don't be shy, Nils, let him help you."

"But..." Nils began to reply when Hector suddenly picked him up with one hand sat him on his back. "Whoa!" gasped Nils as he wobbled against Hector's neck. "Help me! I'm going to fall over! Heeeeeellllp!" Lyn and Hector both laughed at the poor little boy's plight, while Nils went red with embarrassment.

"Feel better?" Hector asked him. Face flushing, Nils could only nod in response. Like Ninian, receiving service from others, particularly those with high social status, was completely foreign to him.

On the side, Eliwood and Ninian were watching the spectacle in amusement. 'Hector acts like a such a brute, but he really is a nice person,' Eliwood marvelled. Ninian was staring into the distance, a sea of sand seemingly stretching to the horizon. There was no-one, yet Uther had clearly told them to keep going into the desert and someone will meet up with them. Faced with the seeming futility of their situation, she could not help but sigh hopelessly.

"Come over here, Ninian," Eliwood beckoned. "The heat is taking its toll on you. Come on, lean on me." Ninian's cheeks immediately turned red bashfully.

"I couldn't..." she said quietly. "Men and women are to keep their distance, Lord Eliwood." Eliwood smiled.

"Come on now, Ninian, you don't have to be so formal with me," he told her. "People would think that we're strangers if you act this way."

Giving in to his wishes, she walked closer and leaned against his shoulder. "Forgive me..." she whispered. "It's just... strange..."

Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "What's strange?" he asked. Ninian could only sigh sadly.

"Why do you and the others treat my brother and I so normally?" she asked him. "Doesn't it bother you, that our powers and looks are different from you? Because of our powers, people stay away from us. Yet you are showing concern for Nils and I."

Eliwood seemed confused. "Is that what's been bothering you?" he sighed. "What wrong with having special powers or looking a bit different? If people ostracise you, it would only make me more worried. When I look at you, I don't see other people, I don't see monsters or freaks. I see Ninian, a normal, kindhearted girl." Ninian turned straight around to look Eliwood in the face, heart beating furiously. She had never dreamed in her entire life that she would hear what she just heard.

"Do you speak truly?" she asked him. Eliwood nodded. "Of course." Sighing in relief and happiness, she leaned further into his chest, taking in as much of his warmth and compassion as she could. Sitting down, she could only wish that the moment she was in could last forever.

"You know," Eliwood started reminiscing. "Every year, in Pherae, we hold a grand harvest festival in the autumn time. Everyone in our land comes to eat, drink and dance."

"That sounds like fun, Lord Eliwood," Ninian purred.

"You should come too, Ninian," Eliwood invited. "Everyone would love to see you dance. The one you showed me the other was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Three days ago on the way to Nabata, Ninian had decided to show Eliwood her special dance. Stopping on the outskirts of Aquelia, the capital of the Kingdom Etruria, they had set up camp. With the whole troupe sitting around the camp-fire, Ninian performed her dance for everyone to see while Nils sang to accompany her. Unlike many dances, Ninian's dance was slow and sombre. Swaying with the wind, her movements were extremely subtle, but all in the right positions, giving her a mystical and out-of-this-world look. When comparing to other, faster dances that required a lot of practise to get their complex movements, the dance that Ninian perform was simple as one can imagine it to be. However, it was no less impressive or difficult than any of them, as her dance focussed on moving the heart and the soul and required perfect harmony with the inner self. From simplicity came grace and beauty. Eliwood had never been more captivated than anything he witnessed that night.

"My mother loves dancing, too," Eliwood continued. "She would love to see you dance. At the festival, she would dance all night like a young girl. My father would always shake her head in disapproval. 'You're a grown woman, now, Eleanora, why are you still acting like a little girl?', he would ask. However, every time, his heart would soften and dance with her until dawn. Oh..." Seeing Ninian's sombre expression of guilt and regret, Eliwood stopped talking about his father.

"Forgive me, Ninian," he apologised. "You must think my father quite often." Tears slowly forming in her eyes, Ninian replied: "It's all right," she replied. "He's your father, Lord Eliwood, I wouldn't imagine comparing my grief to yours at losing him."

Eliwood sighed. "Ninian, remember what I told you?" he told her. "You are not responsible for what happened to my father. You should not blame yourself, I feel horrible every time you do that." Seeing his concern for her, Ninian could only let out more tears.

"No, Lord Eliwood, you don't understand," she choked. "You don't know everything. Everything is a consequence of my weakness, and my weakness alone. I have been deceiving you." Eliwood's face flicked around like a candle being out by the breeze.

"Deceiving? What do you mean?" he asked. "You mean there are things you haven't told me?" Ninian nodded, a torrent of tears cascading down her face.

"I'm sorry," she apologised as she bawled harder into his chest. Eliwood shook his head and moaned sadly. As he watched her cry, he could only feel his heart melting away. Drawing her close, he embraced her tightly and patted her softly like a father would for his daughter. Any curiosity to what Ninian may have been hiding from him evaporated like her tears as they hit the ground.

"Don't cry, Ninian, don't cry..." he comforted her. "I don't know what has happened, what you have been hiding from us, but I don't ever want to see you cry."

o0o

Deep inside the desert was an underground oasis, enough to provide nourishment for at least a thousand people. It was in these ruins that a living legend lived. He was a tall man with long grey hair and an even longer grey beard. The wrinkles on his face almost suggested he has been around since the beginning of time, but his figure suggested that his age did not affect him in the slightest. Energy seemed to flow from him like a fountain. Next to him stood a beautiful blonde woman in pink.

"I believe someone approaches..." the old man whispered as he focussed his seeing crystal on Eliwood and his friends. "It seems it's a group sent by Uther of Ostia. Hawkeye should find them soon and bring them here. Your companion is still searching around in the desert."

"Lord Pent isn't having any luck finding what he's after, is he?" the woman asked as the old man mentioned 'her companion'. The old man shrugged.

"No, I believe he should find it within the next hour," he said confidently. Shifting his seeing crystal to a rather elegant looking nobleman combing the desert for a certain artifact, he continued: "A group of bandits is also moving, though... they've found Pent and are preparing to attack."

The woman opened her eyes wide open in concern. "Are you concerned for his safety?" the old man asked.

Calming down, the woman replied coolly: "No, Lord Pent can take care himself, although, his return here might be delayed..." The old man turned her head in her direction with interest. "Will you eat your dinner before us?" she asked him. "I'm going to wait for Lord Pent, but I'm sure you must be hungry, Lord Athos."

The old man named Athos roared with laughter. "You are one amusing woman Louise," he chuckled. He had long lost the need to eat or sleep. "Since Pent brought you here, I think I've laughed enough for ten years! I'm glad I took Pent as my apprentice, then." Louise looked rather confused, but did not feel the need to enquire further. Instead, she turned her attention to Eliwood and the others.

"The visitors are coming from Lycia, aren't they?" she enquired. "I wonder what they want by coming here..." At this, Athos' face began to drain of colour. "Archsage, you facial colour..." Louise noticed with concern. "Are you well?"

Athos sighed deeply. "Once it begins to turn," he muttered quietly. "The momentum of the wheel of fate will be too great for anyone to stop. Still, as long as they have hope, people will continue to try. I'm afraid those kids don't know the kind of despair, the kind of pain, and the kind of loss that awaits them..."

o0o

Back outside in the desert, Ninian finally pulled herself together and broke from Eliwood's embrace. Looking into the distance, she noticed a group of bandits circling a wealthy-looking man like a pack of wolves around a trapped rabbit.

"Lord Eliwood?" she prodded him as she pointed at the commotion. "Over there, someone is under attack."

Squinting into the distance, Eliwood indeed saw the shapes of about twenty people. "It looks like a lone man being surrounded by a crowd of bandits," he noted. Hating bandits with a passion, Lyn immediately piped up: "Let's go and help him! I hate seeing someone facing those sort of odds!" 'And bandits bullying the helpless,' she added in her own mind. She immediately sprinted toward the bandits, hands tightly gripping the Mani Katti.

"Hold on, Lyn!" called Hector as he chased after her. "This is as fast as I can go, I've got all this armour on! Slow down, you show-off!"

The man who was surrounded by bandits was Pent, Louise's wife. Dressed in elegant and expensive-looking clothing, he quickly attracted the attention of the local Nabatan bandits, who were now circling him like vultures. Leading them were twin brothers Paul and Jasmine, two huge, muscular brigands.

"Look at this kindly soul, Jasmine!" called Paul. "He's waiting all by himself to give us his treasure!" His twin brother Jasmine snickered.

"Oho, Paul, I believe you are right! Such generosity is nice!" he laughed. Pent however, was not amused. Fumbling the treasure in his hand, he said quietly, but warning in his voice: "It took me many days to find this... I've worked too hard to hand this over to you thugs."

The twin bandits were suddenly taken aback. "Thugs?" bellowed Paul in outrage. "You're so rude! We were thinking of letting you go alive, too! We're fragile creatures, you know! You can't just play with our emotions like that! You're horrible, he's so bad, Jasmine!" Jasmine slapped his thigh in agreement.

"I know, right, Paul?" he concurred. "My heart is breaking, my dear brother! Let's get him to reconsider!" Pointing their axes at Pent, they went into battle formation. Pent cursed under his breath but sighed deeply.

"I have no wish to hurt you, folks," he told them. "However, if you force me, I won't show you mercy." The only reply he received was a huge axe aimed straight at his head, in which he dodged easily. Leaping out of the formation, he quickly fired three bolts of lightning at the incoming bandits, incapacitating three targets. Realising that their enemy is much more powerful than they had expected, the bandits circled around him slowly. Pent continued firing magic bolts at the enemy, but was only able to defend himself and not attack now that the bandits were becoming more careful. After one hundred exchanges, the bandits had surrounded him again, ready to go in for the kill.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in the air, follow by a bandit head flying through the air. Mani Katti drawn, Lyn had arrived at the scene and had began to attack the bandits. About three hundred metres behind them, Eliwood and Hector trudged through the sand as fast as they could. It was at this time a sudden gust of sand blew across the skirmish. As it subsided, it was replaced by a hulking figure of a man in his forties carrying an even larger axe across his shoulder. He had relatively dark complexion and long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a rather serious and menacing look on his face.

"Ahhh, shade..." Hector let out in relief as the giant man stood next to him, partially eclipsing the sun from him. Realising that shade should not sudden appear like it did, he turned around and saw the giant standing man next to him. Heart almost jumping out of his mouth, he retreated two steps and stuttered: "Holy crap, who are you?"

The giant made no reaction as he replied calmly: "I'm Hawkeye, defender of this desert. I will drive the bandits away, guests need not fight." With this, he rushed at the bandits with incredible pace, bringing his axe down like a club on the nearest bandit. The result resembled a squashed piece of steak, blood, tissue and cartilage flying everywhere. With the bandits sufficiently distracted and their defensive formation weakened, Pent immediately went for the kill, sending powerful waves of fire at the twins Paul and Jasmine. Unable to fight back due to the reinforcements that have arrived, they both took a huge blow each to the chest.

"I can't believe we lost, Jasmine," groaned Paul as he died. "It's a tragedy, isn't it, brother?"

Jasmine nodded on the side. "I got hit, but it feels good... these people are too strong, Paul..." he concurred as they both died at the same time.

Pent sighed as he watched the remaining bandits scatter at their leaders' demises. "You really helped me out, thank you," he called to Lyn, Hector and Eliwood. Hector shrugged at his gratitude.

"We didn't really do much, mate," he replied. "Before we could help, the action was pretty much over." Pent smiled and shook his head.

"Not true, my friend," he told Hector. "I couldn't last forever out there, those bandits almost got me after they surrounded me just then. So tell me, my young friends, what brings you to this barren wasteland?"

"Well..." Eliwood began. "We were sent here to meet a 'living legend'." Pent closed his eyes and considered it for a second, then burst into laughter.

" 'Living legend'?" he chuckled. "That's well said, well said, my friend!" The three lordlings looked at each other in confusion. "Do you know what it means?" asked Lyn.

Pent shrugged at the question. "I suppose I do," he replied calmly. "It appears that we're all going to the same place." Turning around, he noticed Hawkeye standing to the side. "Hawkeye!" he greeted cheerfully. "You're here, too?"'

Hawkeye nodded in acknowledgement. "Did you find it, Pent?" From his pocket, Pent pulled out a shiny jewel the size of his hand. The three lordlings gasped at grandeur of the jewel, they had never seen anything near that size. Not even in the vaults of Ostia's jewel keep would they have found anything of that sort.

"That I did," Pent replied. "Come on, everyone, if you want to see your 'living legend', let's make haste. Desert nights are dangerous." Turning around, he began to walk briskly further into the desert.

"Hey!" called Hector as he followed Pent further into the desert. "I don't mind going with you, but how much further do we have to go? All I see is more sand." Before Pent could answer, however, Hector had stopped suddenly as the sand around him began to swirl like a whirlpool. "Whoa!" he cried as he fell through the sand. Lyn and Eliwood both gasped in shock before they too, were engulfed by the quicksand.

It was about fifteen minutes that Eliwood and his friends finally woke up in a dimly lit room. The walls seemed to be made of hard granite, and the room appeared to have not been in use for centuries.

"Hello there!" called Pent as he saw Eliwood wake up. "You're awake, are you okay?" Seeing Eliwood's look of confusion at seeing him, he jogged his memory by reminding him: "I'm Hawkeye's friend, remember?"

Recognising him and getting up quickly, Eliwood quickly surveyed the surroundings. "Where are we?" he asked. To his surprise, neither Hawkeye nor Pent could provide him the answer.

"My master never spoke of anything like this," Hawkeye noted.

"Lord Eliwood!" called Nils from behind him. "You're here, too? I'm glad you're okay!"

"Where's everyone else, is Ninian okay?" asked Eliwood. Nils looked around to the side.

"They're all here, too..." he replied. "I can't see them, but I can sense them. They are all pretty close to us." Sighing in relief, Eliwood walked around to try and gather more information. Seeing Nils' ability to sense people, Pent was rather impressed. Turning to Nils, he asked: "Something is strange in the air, here, I can feel it."

Both Eliwood and Nils gasped in agreement. "Yeah, you're right!" Eliwood said quickly. "I've felt this weird feeling before, back on Valor. I first felt it in those ruins near the Dragon's Gate. After that, everybody who had magic powers failed to be able to use them."

Pent and Hawkeye looked at each other with worried expressions. "That sounds just like a magic seal..." pondered Pent. Seeing Eliwood's lack of understanding, he explained: "I'm not entirely certain on how to explain it, but it's someone whose very presence nullifies all magic within a certain radius." Eliwood seemed to be even confused. Why would something like that be down here in the middle of the desert?

"Lord Eliwood, are you okay?" asked a soft female voice from behind him. Turning around and letting out a huge sigh of relief, Eliwood saw Ninian walk toward him with Hector and Lyn. "I think we're being watched," she told him as crashing sounds were heard from the room next to them. "Watch out, something is happening! He's called some friends, and they are very powerful!" Pent looked thoughtful.

"He's summoned them here?" he marvelled. "I'm beginning to think that he sent them here. If we defeat him, we should be able to get out of here." Raising his sword and pointing it at the next room, Eliwood nodded and replied with intensity: "Then we will fight! If they have strength, then we'll match it and challenge them! We don't have time for this!"

Hawkeye also nodded in agreement. "I'm going to fight too, Pent. You should stay here and guard everyone else." With this, he, Eliwood, Hector, Lyn and the siblings marched into the next room to face the enemies. Staying close to each other, they moved toward the source of the thick air where the magic seal was. Hawkeye led the way, while the three lordlings moved in a circle, shifting their positions as they went. Suddenly, three shadowy figures jumped out from the side, attacking them. Jumping up, Hawkeye brought down his axe on of them, while the three young lords fought in formation against the other two. After about fifty exchanges and a flurry of movement, they had taken out the three figures, who had disappeared like mist.

Moving forward, they saw an eerie looking creature in a red robe and hood, emitting a sickening aura. Its face resembled that of a demon, with creamy, wrinkling skin and a long, tipped nose. Its foetid breath seemed to rot everything it touched. Stepping forward, Hawkeye tried bringing his axe down at it, only to have the magic seal disappear and reappear in an instant. Strangely, the magic seal did not counter-attack, instead it stood still where it was, as if gloating at them.

"Strike back!" Hector commanded as he fanatically directed his axe at the magic seal to no avail. Eliwood and Lyn also charged in at it and surrounded it with their formation. Seeing that the magic seal refused to or was unable to counterattack, the young lords went all out offensively. In an appeared panic, the magic seal summoned more shadowy fighters to his aid. They were two heavily armoured armour knights, marching toward them with their lances raised.

Seeing that the lordlings were good enough to keep the magic seal in sight, Hawkeye raised his axe and held off the two armour knights with his axe. After about twenty short exchanges, he swept his axe in an arc to catch them off guard, then brought it down on both to turn them both into squashed eggs.

Meanwhile, the magic seal was finding it more and more difficult to ward off the lordlings' attacks. After another ten exchanges, Eliwood's sword managed to pierce its robe and stab its chest. However, instead of dying, groaning or doubling over in pain, the magic seal simply leapt up into the air and disappeared, this time not returning.

"Phew, the air is back to normal!" Pent noted as he walked into the room. "The magic seal seemed to have fled."

"What in the name of decency was that thing?" Eliwood asked. "It had a human form, but it sure as hell wasn't human!" He had stabbed it in the chest and it wasn't fazed in the least.

"It was a creature of heresy," explained Ninian. "Its existence makes a ruin of nature's most basic laws." Pent nodded in agreement and sighed deeply.

"I guess that there are just too many things in this world that fall beyond our realm of understanding," he conceded. Pointing to a door that had appeared after the magic seal had left, he said: "Come on, let's leave this place, a 'living legend' awaits us." Following Pent, Eliwood and his group followed him through the door.

Ever since he saw her in the desert, Hawkeye had kept a steady eye on Ninian every time he was free. "You..." he whispered to her as she walked through the door. "You're... the daughter of..."

Turning her head in surprise, Ninian smiled sweetly and innocently at him. "I beg your pardon?" she asked. Hawkeye shook his head. "Be strong," he told her as he walked away, leaving a stunned Ninian in his wake.

o0o

After getting out of the magic seal's chamber, Pent and Hawkeye led Eliwood and his friends into an underground oasis. It was a huge complex with shiny granite tiles on its walls and floor. Water ran from the holes in the walls, and the shrubs that were planted on the side gave the room a greenish-blue feel, completely opposite to harsh environment of the desert outside.

"Welcome, children of Roland," boomed a voice from the back of the chamber. Looking up, Eliwood saw a grand, old man with a long, grey beard. Radiating with power, the old man commanded a formidable presence, while his kind, grandfather-like face gave him a compassionate look. Hearing his greeting, Hector and Lyn both looked at each other in confusion. "What does he mean by that?" Lyn asked, while Hector retorted irritably: "We come from Lycia, old man."

Eliwood, on the other hand, was a lot more polite. "I think I know," he thought aloud. "A thousand years ago, man and dragon fought on this continent. That was the war we called the Scouring. You all know of the Eight Legends, the heroes who led us to victory, right?"

Lyn nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, we've heard stories of the Eight Legends," she concurred. "I was raised in Sacae, so I know of Hanon, the nomad, who wielded the Miurgre, also known as the Bow of the Winds."

Hector looked around thoughtfully. "Our country, Lycia, was founded by the hero, Roland," he thought aloud. Lyn suddenly lit up in understanding. "That's why you called us the 'children of Roland', right?"

The old man smiled and nodded. "That is correct, daughter of Hanon and Roland," he boomed. "You might be wondering who I am. I am Athos, many simply choose to call me Archsage."

Eliwood and the others almost wet their pants in shock. "Athos?" Eliwood stammered. "It can't be... Archsage Athos was one of the Eight Legends. If you really are him, you would have to be over a thousand years old!"

Athos smiled mysteriously. "Archsage Athos _is_ one of the Eight Legends," he corrected Eliwood. "The world is full of mysteries. Solve one, and along comes another. Like a circle, the more you found out, the more you don't know. Before I knew it, I had grown distant from my fellow man. Hunger for knowledge... it knows no bounds."

" 'Living Legend'... I see now," Hector said after finally understanding.

Athos got straight to business. "You're here because you want to stop Nergal, am I correct?" he asked. Surprised to know that the Archsage knew everything already, Eliwood was relieved that he did not have to explain his case. "Yes," he replied. "Did Marquess Ostia send word to you as well?"

Athos shook his head. "I am aware of most things that occur on this continent," he explained. "However, knowledge alone is not enough for me to prevent disaster, as demonstrated by what happened on Dread Isle just a week or so ago."

"Nils said something similar to that before," Lyn piped up. "What he said was 'with my special power, I can sense danger coming, but there is nothing I can do to stop it'."

Athos nodded in acknowledgement. "Nils... he's one of the children of destiny..." he mused. "Anyway, let's talk about Nergal. Do you know how to stop him?"

Eliwood came here to find out just this. "No, that is why we came here," he replied. "What wisdom can you share with us?"

"Your foe, is like me, no longer altogether human," Athos explained. "It will be difficult to kill him through conventional methods. He wields a terrible power and endless strength, which stems from an ancient, forbidden magic. To defeat him, you will need a similar response." Seeing Eliwood's look of confusion, Athos continued: "While he is resting, you must find the power to oppose him. It will harder than anything you can imagine. Great trials await you, as well as great pain, suffering, and despair. You may come to regret your decision. With that in mind, will you stay your course, children?"

Knowing they had come too far to back away, all three lordlings nodded in affirmation. "Our will remains fixed," Eliwood stated with conviction. "This is a road that we simply cannot turn back on. To do so would firstly be irresponsible and secondly dangerous. Nergal is surely after us, and we may as well take the fight to him." Lyn and Hector both patted their thighs in agreement.

"We've known that all along!" Hector chided in, while Lyn agreed with: "We can overcome anything. You'll see, Together, we will be strong."

Rather overcome by their spirit, Athos could only admire their chivalry. 'I have not seen such active and noble youths for centuries,' he thought to himself. "Very well," he sighed. Slowly, he explained what they were to do. To defeat Nergal, he had explained, required the use of superhuman powers which resided in the Divine Weapons. These weapons were forged during the Scouring and were wielded by the Eight Legends who led mankind to victory. There were eight in total. Durandal, the Blazing Sword, was wielded by Roland the Hero, who was the first king of Lycia. Armads, the Thunder Axe, was the weapon of Durban the Berserker. Malte was the Spear of Snow and Ice, and was wielded by Barigan the Holy Knight, who founded the north-eastern country of Ilia. Hanon the Nomad, who went on to found Sacae, was the owner of Miurgre, the Bow of the Winds. St. Elimine, the founder of the Elimine Church, used light magic from the Aureola tome, also known as the Pinnacle of Light, as well as the Holy Maiden staff. Magic from the Apocalypse or the Silencing Darkness tome was wielded by Bramimond. Athos wielded magic from the Forblaze tome, otherwise known as the Infernal Element. Finally, the royal sword of Bern, the Exaccus, was wielded by Hartmut, the first king of Bern.

"Nergal's wounds will heal very quickly," Athos explained. "Therefore, we do not have time to collect all of the Divine Weapons. I believe that Roland's Blazing Sword and Durbans' Thunder Axe should probably suffice. To get them, you need to release the seals that were placed on them after the Scouring. To do that, you must go to the Shrine of Seals in Bern." Eliwood considered for a bit and nodded in understanding.

"Take Hawkeye with you," Athos told them. "Add his skills to your own." Turning to Pent and Louise, he asked: "And what will you do, Pent? Louise?"

Pent and Louise were both sitting on the side, listening to their conversation. "Nergal is a magic user that rivals even you, Lord Athos, it is an intriguing story." Turning to Eliwood and his friends, he continued: "Forgive me for the late introductions, I am Pent, Count Reglay of Etruria."

Eliwood and Hector's eyes both popped out of their faces. Seeing Lyn's look of confusion, Hector explained: "He hails from the most prominent noble house in Etruria. He's known as the Mage General." Turning back to Pent, he asked: "What brought you to this place?"

"Bern's successor will soon have his coming-of-age ceremony," Athos explained. "Pent claimed that there was time to search the desert for a magic artefact said to have been lost in Nabata a long time ago. You arrived shortly after he did. Perhaps there was something guiding you."

Pent nodded in agreement. "I would like to bow to the dictates of fate," he told them. "My wife and I would like to join you if we may."

Eliwood nodded in agreement. "We welcome you both with all our hearts," he allowed. "Do you need to send word of your mission to your countrymen?"

Pent waved his hand casually. "Nah," he replied. "Who would believe us? Besides, it is not unusual for us to remain absent for long periods of time. I doubt anyone would be surprised by our absence."

Athos cleared his throat. "There isn't much time," he said to them. "Hawkeye, gather everyone into the plaza. I'll send you all to Lycia." Hawkeye did as he was told and rounded up everyone in Eliwood's group into the centre of the room. "Eliwood, fate blows a strange wind in your direction, much of this rides on your shoulders and abilities," Athos continued. Pulling a potion vial from his pocket, he handed it to Eliwood. "I want you to have this, it is a vial of Afa's Drops. It enhances natural abilities, skills which one is born with. Give this to whoever you feel has the most unrefined talent." Eliwood nodded gratefully and took the vial of Afa's Drops and put it into his own pocket. Meanwhile, Hawkeye had finished gathering everyone in Eliwood's group. "Everyone is here," he grunted.

"Thank you Hawkeye," Athos said graciously. "Eliwood, your territory of Pherae is the closest to Bern, is it not?"

Eliwood nodded. "Yes, the border lies in the mountains," he replied..

"Very good," Athos continued. "Now, in your mind, envision a wide, peaceful place in Pherae. Next, think of the name a person you would like to meet there." Eliwood followed his instructions, and kept his mind on his mother, the one he wished to see the most before he left on his arduous task.

"Now, children of Roland," Athos boomed. "It is time to say farewell. You must reach the Shrine of Seals. From there, the doors to your destinies will open wide before you." The air that surrounded Eliwood's group started to spin. Focussing his power, Athos pushed it at the lordlings, whom in a burst a bright light, disappeared from the room.

o0o

It was twilight at Castle Pherae. Eleanora was sitting alone in the throne room, staring at the empty throne in which her husband once proudly sat.

"I can't believe you're gone..." she whispered toward the throne, tears streaming down her face. On the back of her head, several white hairs had grown from the constant worry for her son and the grief for her husband's death. "Every time I close my eyes, I see you at my side, and that memory haunts me! Elbert... if perchance that you are listening to me, please look after our son..." Her prayer was answered with a distant "Mum!". Almost falling off her seat, Eleanora looked around for the source of Eliwood's voice.

"What?" she gasped. "Eliwood, where are you?" Turning around and looking through the door, she saw her son running through the castle in her direction. Forgetting everything that was on her mind, she ran toward her son as fast she could, stopping only when she had her arms firmly around him.

"Eliwood, where did you come from?" she asked as she looked upon his unkempt form with a look only a mother can do. "You look so tired, have you lost weight? You look awful!" Eliwood squirmed guiltily in her care.

"Forgive me, mum," he apologised. "The Archsage sent us here. About dad..."

Eleanora closed her eyes in sadness. "I heard his last moments were glorious," she sighed. "Although he's gone, he will always be in my heart." Looking up and seeing all of Eliwood's friends, she told them: "Come on, everyone, let's make everyone comfortable. You all look in need of a rest!"

Pulling out of his mother's embrace, Eliwood got straight to the point. "Mum, we need to hurry onward," he told her, only to elicit more tears from her eyes.

"I know you do!" she cried. "But please, Eliwood... just for one night, in the castle?" Hector and Lyn both agreed with Eleanora.

"One night isn't going to hurt us, Eliwood," Hector assured. "Come on, your mother is worried about you. Let's just stay here for tonight then." Seeing how tired everyone was, Eliwood decided it probably was not a good idea to keep going, so he conceded and allowed everyone to rest in Castle Pherae for the night.

_ Hyralc: Yeah, about the Sword of Seals thing, I deliberately left it out because it technically isn't one of the Divine Weapons. It'll require me to explain it a bit of detail, which I cannot bothered doing, not to mention that it might expose some of FE6's story which I wanted to avoid._


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9: The Mad Dog's Four Fanged Offense_

Eliwood and his friends were so spent after the trip to the Dread Isle and the Nabata Desert that everyone could not help stammering their thanks to Eleanora, who had offered them to rest at the castle for the night. Since there were quite a few people around, they shared their rooms.

"Is that a yawn I'm seeing, Hector?" Eliwood noticed as he showed his friend to his room. "I don't see you do that very often."

Hector looked at him with slitted eyes. "Well, after all that travelling, how can you not expect me to be tired?" he retorted. "Lately, I haven't been sleeping well with my dreams, either."

Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "A brute like you has dreams?" he teased. "What kind of dreams?" Hector shot him a warning glance. "Laugh, and I'll kill you," he hissed. Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, there was this man..." Hector began. "He was giant with a huge, great beard. He was carrying a little girl on his shoulders, and she called him 'daddy'. The father then replied: 'What is it, my beloved daughter'? That was it. I don't know why, but that dream feels really familiar. The man did look like my dad, I suppose, but who was the little girl? She was really cute, too."

"What colour were their hair?" Eliwood inquired further. Hector replied that they were blue. With this, Eliwood burst into laughter. "It's a vision of your own future, then!" he chuckled. "A great blue beard, hey? Fantastic!" Hector shoved him over and pushed him onto his bed.

"I told you not to laugh, fool!" he said loudly. "Although... if that is my future, I'm not sure I like it much." "Why not?" asked Eliwood with surprise.

"Well," Hector explained. "The girl that would be my daughter, gets taken away by this red-haired boy that comes later. His hair is exactly like yours! I'm sure of it!"

Eliwood squirmed uncomfortably. "Hey, don't get ahead of yourself!" he replied in defensively. "There are plenty of people with red hair!" Hector was not so convinced.

"I'm sure this boy is Pheraen, Eliwood," he muttered. "He looked just like you! No matter how close we may be, I won't give up my daughter to you that easily!" Eliwood rolled around on the floor, laughing.

"Let's hope your dream doesn't come true, hey?" he teased. "For _my_ sake."

While Eliwood and Hector were teasing each other in their room, Ninian was wandering around the castle with nothing to do. Originally, she was spending her time with Nils, but she suddenly felt an empty feeling in her chest. Walking over to Eliwood's room, she stood outside and listened to the two lords fight each other, but could not work up the courage to knock on the door.

"My, my, aren't you a lovely one?" a kind voice behind her said. Jumping in fright, she turned around and saw Eleanora beaming at her. "Are you one of Eliwood's friends as well?" she asked. "What's your name?"

Ninian went pink in the face and answered: "My name is... Ninian... It's an honour to meet you, Lady Eleanora."

Eleanora smiled at her. "No need to be shy, darling," she told her. "Are you looking for Eliwood?"

Ninian went from pink to red to purple. Seeing the shy young girl squirm uncomfortably where she stood, Eleanora nodded in understanding. 'My, my, I didn't think my son would attract a girl as pretty as her in just these few weeks out from home', she laughed in her head. "Darling, if you like my son, just tell him," Eleanora said kindly. "The more you bottle yourself up like this, the worse you will feel."

Seeing the older lady comfort her, Ninian felt reassured. "Lord Eliwood has always been kind to me," she mumbled. "It's just... I'm different from everyone. I'm not worthy to even stand in his sight." Not knowing what she meant, Eleanora tried to comfort her all the same.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked curiously. "No matter, if you don't want to tell me, you can keep it to yourself. What do you do on this mission, by the way? You seem way too gentle to be a fighter."

"I... I dance," Ninian said quietly. "My brother and I can shift energies from one person to another. We can also detect danger." Eleanora nodded in acknowledgement and started walking away.

"Darling, if you need me, just call me," she told the shy girl. "Remember what I told you, don't bottle up your affection, it will only lead to trouble."

Early next morning, Eliwood and his friends decided to set off for Bern. The last time he left Castle Pherae, Eliwood was stepping into the unknown. This time, he had clear purpose of what he must do. Seeing that the fate of the world depended on her son's shoulders, Eleanora could only feel proud for her son, but at the same time, with a bottomless fear. Her son has finally become a man, but what good was that when his chance of survival was slim to none?

"Please be careful, Eliwood," Eleanora said with clear reluctance. "Do not forget, I'm not the only one counting on you now." Pulling her hands over her son, she embraced her son for one last time. "Make your father proud," she told him. Bidding goodbye, the young redhead set off for the horizon toward their destination.

o0o

The kingdom of Bern was the one of the two largest powers on the continent of Elibe. While not as technically advanced or as wealthy as the kingdom of Etruria to the west of Lycia, it was the most militaristic nation on the continent. Boasting an army of over 50,000 troops, it far exceeded that of Etruria, the next most powerful nation, which had 25,000. It was the land where wyverns were still seen in the skies, and the knights who rode them were just as plentiful. In the past, the Lycian League has always enjoyed close relations with the kingdom of Bern. A thousand years of alliance were forged by the leader of the Eight Legends, Hartmut, and the Roland the Hero. However, as hinted by Hector and Ostian spies, King Desmond, the ruler of Bern, has been acting oddly while flaunting his military strength. Knowing that it would be detrimental to move into Bern as nobles, Eliwood, Hector and Lyn decided to disguise themselves as simple travellers. After travelling for a day, they arrived at the bustling lakeside town of Deggendorf.

"What has happened?" Eliwood wondered as they walked into town. "This town is so busy."

"I spoke to some townsfolk on the way here," Lyn chided in. "They said that Prince Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony is in ten days. Everyone's just excited." Zephiel, the crowned prince of Bern was rumoured to be one of the brightest young men on the entire continent. He excelled in everything that he attempted, which gave the citizens the hope that he would become an outstanding ruler. Walking into an inn, Eliwood ordered a private room for himself, Hector, Lyn, Hawkeye, Nils, Ninian, Marcus, Oswin, Pent and Louise, while he let the rest of his fighters explore the town, provided that they behaved.

"Hawkeye, do you know where the Shrine of Seals is?" Eliwood enquired the large man. Hawkeye shook his head.

"I heard that it is north of the capital," he replied. "However, the location of the shrine itself is a secret. I doubt anyone outside the royal family would know how to teach to get there."

Eliwood, Lyn and Hector thought carefully about this. "This will be difficult..." Hector thought aloud. "If we want to reach the shrine, we're going to have to contact the royal family, somehow. However, that would immediately give away our identities and motives. There has to be another way to find where it is."

"I can provide you with its general location," Pent spoke up. "I'm privy to the highest military secrets in Etruria. When we learned of the shrine's existence, we investigated it. However, none of our operatives returned. Bern's defences are truly formidable."

"So even if we reach the shrine, we'll likely to be captured?" Hector asked with a twinge of frustration in his voice.

"Most likely," Pent replied. "Also, if your identities are discovered, Bern will see it as an excuse to invade Lycia."

Eliwood shook his head. "That has to be avoided at all costs," he stated. Pent, however, had a plan.

"This is where I come in," he continued. "You see, I am supposed to attend Prince Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony, which is why I went into the Nabata Desert to find the seal in the first place. Duty demands that I attend the post-ceremony festivities. I will try to greet the queen privately before the ceremony."

Eliwood's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Privately?" he wondered. "You can really do that?"

"Queen Hellene was born in Etruria," Louise explained. "She and I are distantly related."

"Exactly," Pent went on. "When we meet, I will ask discreetly as possible about the Shrine of Seals. The most likely scenario is that she won't say much, but I guess anything would help, right? Rest assured, even if I fail, I will not reveal your identity and your whereabouts. If we do not return by tomorrow, then return to Lycia and come up with a new plan, understood?"

Eliwood could not express his thanks enough. "But Lord Pent," he stammered. "You're just doing too much for us! If you fail, what would become of you? I can't let myself live knowing that you both lost your heads on my behalf."

Pent waved his hands, telling him not to worry. "Everything would work out," he chuckled. "It wouldn't be bad, you know. I would abandon my position of course, then I would rather enjoy a life on the run with Louise."

"We pray for your success, then," Hector wished them luck as the coupled got up and set off on their mission. As they left, Hawkeye got up from his feet and stopped them as they walked about fifty metres down the street.

"Hold on, Pent," he called. Pulling out a huge jewel that looked exactly like the one Pent found in the Nabata Desert, he handed it to the Mage General. "I was holding this for the master."

Pent's eyes almost popped out of its socket. "It's a Heaven Seal!" he gasped. "There are only supposed to be three in existence! What is Archsage Athos' plan?"

Hawkeye shrugged. "I was ordered to give it to the kids when the time is right," he replied. "However, you know me, I probably won't know the right time when it comes. So, I want you to take care of it."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Pent took the seal and put it into his pocket. "Thank you Hawkeye, but what if we don't return?" he asked. Hawkeye frowned at him.

"You will return, Pent," he said confidently. "You and Louise will return without fail. Lord Athos and I forbid you to fail."

o0o

Back at the inn, Eliwood and the others got impatient waiting for Pent and Louise decided to go out and explore the town.

"This is getting boring," Eliwood sighed. "There must be something we can do while we're waiting for them."

"Why don't we try and gather some information on the Black Fang?" Legault suggested as he popped out of nowhere, scaring the living daylights out of the young lord. "The Black Fang's headquarters are here in Bern," he explained. "Unfortunately, I was never disclosed the location. The Black Fang is so much different than it once was. Any information we could gain would be beneficial."

Eliwood nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea, thanks, Legault," he said gratefully. Having enough of waiting around and doing nothing, Lyn and Hector decided to go out and explore the town.

"We need to be careful," Hector noted as they walked out of the inn. Grinning evilly, Lyn nudged him. "Especially you, Hector," she teased. Hector froze and turned straight around angrily.

"What did you just say?" he roared as Lyn bolted as away as far she could. "You come back here!" Hector called as he chased after her. Eliwood could only sigh and shake his head at their childishness.

"Those two..." he groaned. "I just can't tell if they're friends or not..." Suddenly, from behind him, he heard someone laughing at him. Turning around, he was pleasantly surprised to see that the source of laughter came from Ninian. It was like the sun had just come out of the clouds. 'She looks so much prettier when she's happy,' he thought to himself as he could not help staring at her.

"Is something funny, Ninian?" he asked her. She stopped giggling straight away and retreated back to her timid form.

"It's just..." she could not help letting out a small giggle. "Just listen to you grumble, Lord Eliwood! You sound like their chaperone!"

"Really?" Eliwood replied with a smile. "Is that what it sounds like to you?" Ninian nodded her head shyly. "I like it when you laugh," he added. "You look so much prettier when you're cheerful. You should do it more often." The reaction on the Ninian's face resembled a flower blooming as her heart rate increased to at least one and a half times her normal rate. Her breathing quickened as she looked into his kind eyes, and then immediately turning away. She could not believe what she just heard. As she tried to thank him for the complement, she found herself unable to speak clearly. "I beg your pardon?" was the only thing she could whisper bashfully, keen to avoid his gaze.

"Nothing," Eliwood replied innocently as he winked. "Come on, let's follow the others!" Ninian tried to follow, but found herself frozen and out of breath by what had just transpired. Heart beating furiously, she could only bow her head and sigh deeply.

As Hector chased Lyn down the street, he called out to her: "Hey, Lyn! Will you stop! We're leaving Eliwood behind!" Stopping as quickly as she started, Lyn turned around.

"We don't want to be in the way," she told him as she saw Eliwood and Ninian together alone. Hector raised his eyebrow in confusion. Laughing at Hector's cluelessness, she told him: "Don't worry about it, it's more important that we start gathering information." With that, they split up and roamed the town for clues on the Black Fang.

Lyn walked around the town and entered various buildings and asking the citizens what they knew of the Black Fang. What she heard was the complete opposite of what she was expecting. "About five years ago, the lord who ruled this area was a terrible man," explained one elderly woman when Lyn quizzed her. "Every night, he would an extravagant feast below the castle, while the villagers starved to death. However, one day, it all ended. The Black Fang had executed him for his corruption and negligence to the people. The Black Fang are heroes to us. It makes it so hard to hear the current rumours about them. Why did they have to change?"

Another girl gave a similar story, and she told it with a blushed face: "The Four Fangs are the four strongest members of the righteous Black Fang, All of the Bern folk know of them. The one they call the Mad Dog is a great man. When I was attacked by bandits, he rescued me. I couldn't see his face because it was night time. I have been hearing some awful rumours about them, lately, and it really disturbs me." From she had heard from Leila, and how Uhai had fought them honourably, her perception of the Black Fang slowly started to change. 'Maybe they aren't the cold-blooded killers that I envisioned,' she thought.

On the other side of town, Rebecca was chatting to Dart. Unsatisfied with her investigation, she was still following Dart very closely.

"Ho, Rebecca!" he called. Three days ago, she had made him a sandwich. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a large seashell. "Here, this is for the food earlier."

Eyes opening wide, Rebecca let out a huge smile. "Thanks!" she said appreciatively. "Didn't you say we were even back then?" She was so sorry for bumping into the pirate and mistaking him for her brother that she made him the sandwich as an apology.

Dart shrugged. "Uh... I don't remember that part," he said cluelessly. Rebecca beamed at him.

"Don't worry about that," she told him, before suddenly looking pensive again. "I know shouldn't be saying this, Dart, but you just look so much like my brother."

Dart raised his eyebrow. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Well, who knows? I might be. I don't have any memories of my life more than five years ago. Fargus found me, bloody and limp on a pier in Badon, and I didn't know who I was. I think I must have leaked more than just blood out of my ears, you know?"

Rebecca's heart quickened its beat. "My brother... disappeared... exactly... five years ago," she breathed hopefully.

Dart looked thoughtful. "It's probably just strange luck," he mused. "Although, do you have anything that might prove it?"

"He had a scar on his right side of the abdomen," Rebecca replied. "It was from when he got gored by a stag in the forests of Pherae! Do you have a scar like that?"

Lifting his shirt up slightly, Dart looked for the scar that Rebecca was talking about. "Abdomen... and my right is starboard, right?" he mumbled as he fiddled with his belly. Indeed, there was a long scar that ran through where his liver was lying straight under. Rebecca put her hands to her mouth in exclamation.

"You know, don't take it personally," Dart told her. "You know, I'd be glad to think you were my sister, but I'd hate to find out I'm wrong later, you know? You know what, just called me brother Dart. Either way, I'm going back to the Davros when this fight ends, so why don't you and I just along for a little while, hey?" Happy that she had found her long-lost brother, Rebecca got up and followed him around the town.

Suddenly, Dart stopped as he stared at a bulky, maroon-haired man carrying an axe. Walking straight up to the man, he called: "Hey, I know you, aren't you the guy who worked for Belger, Geitz?"

The man named Geitz looked perplexed. He stared at Dart for about twenty seconds, then remembered who he was. "Is that you, Dart? What are you doing here?" he asked. Dart shrugged.

"I like to raise trouble on land every now and then," he told Geitz. "How about you? Still working for your father?" Geitz's face went bright red at the mention of his father.

"Don't even mention my old man!" he retorted angrily. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm no part that family any more! Say, Dart, you mind if I joined your group? I haven't got anywhere to go, anyway. Let's raise trouble, hey buddy?" With this, Geitz, Dart and Rebecca shot off through the town.

o0o

As Eliwood and his friends wandered around the town, a young girl of age fourteen with short, messy green hair strode quickly through its streets, with a few rolls of parchment slung between her chest and her arm. Keen to get to her destination, she walked as quickly as she could. Turning a corner without looking, she slammed straight into man about twice her bulk. "I'm sorry!" she apologised profusely.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Nino," snickered the man. Looking up, Nino was pleasantly surprised to see the man that she walked into was none other than her stepbrother, Linus the Mad Dog of the Black Fang. Standing next to him was her other, older stepbrother, Lloyd the White Wolf.

"Hi, Linus, Lloyd!" she greeted them cheerfully. "I didn't expect to see you here, too! Are you working?"

Lloyd shrugged. 'If you count following the orders of your bitch of a mother, I suppose so,' he thought. "You could say we are," he answered kindly. "How about you? Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I have a job to do, too!" she answered proudly. She held up the parchments in her grasp. "I'm carrying messages for my mum, and I'm doing my best!" Waving goodbye and walking off quickly, she added: "I'll see you two later, let's do something together when your job is finished, okay?"

As he walked her leave, Linus could only sigh with a twinge of annoyance in his voice. "She's such a good kid," he said quietly. "It's so hard to believe she's that witch's child." Turning around, he saw his brother staring off into the distance with his eyes reduced to slits and hands gripping his sword tightly.

"Linus, check this out," he muttered while pointing to something in the distance. "Can it really be them? Our intelligence told us that they were in Nabata!" Squinting his eyes to see further, Linus gasped as he too, spotted Eliwood and his friends wandering around the town.

"Holy crap, you're right!" he said with excitement. Linus had always loved action, and to be frank, the past few weeks have been boring to say the least. Turning to his brother, he suggested: "Does it matter where they've been? We've found them now, so let's take care of them. Wouldn't that make Sonia look horrible?"

Lloyd nodded in agreement, but looked thoughtful. Unlike his younger brother, Lloyd was much more patient. While Linus' fighting style was similar to Hector's, Lloyd was fast, agile and even more deadly.

"I guess you're right, but the timing isn't," he considered. "Attacking them while they're in town is against our creed. I wonder if we should go and tell dad and ask what he thinks. Linus, I'm going to go and tell dad. You stay here and watch them, make sure that they don't escape."

Linus frowned impatiently. "Why can't you and I just finish them off now? They're _right here_!" he argued.

"We can't yet," Lloyd retorted with annoyance. "You have to be patient, Linus. All you need to do is watch where they go. That's an order, understood?"

Knowing that it would futile to try and argue with his older brother, Linus sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine, I'll do as you say," he said reluctantly. "Hurry the hell back, though, won't you? I'm getting jittery just standing here." Lloyd nodded and ran off.

After tracking Eliwood and his friends for about an extra half an hour, Linus ran out of patience. Walking up to one of his henchman, he called: "Igor! I can't ignore game when it's just nibbling on my line. We're going hunting! Taunt those lords and pull them into the centre of the town."

The one named Igor was stunned. "Hold on, Lord Linus," he retorted. "You're not just going to ignore Lord Lloyd's order just like that, are you?"

Linus snickered in response. "He's doing this so the villagers don't get harmed," he explained. "That's what he said, right? So, if we pull them to the centre of town, we'll make sure the villagers are safe. Come on, Igor, we want to show my brother that we can do this, right? Go and do as I say!"

Igor could only sigh hopelessly. 'You just never listen to anyone, don't you?' he thought irritably. Picking up his sword, he ran up to Eliwood and his friends and pointed it at them.

"You are Eliwood?" he asked menacingly. Rather taken aback by the man's sudden gesture, Eliwood raised his sword in defense.

"Who are you?" he asked. "You're part of the Black Fang?"

Igor nodded. "Of course," he replied. "You have the honour of dying at the hands of the Four Fangs. Our commander is Linus, the Mad Dog! Come, you'll get your throats ripped out!" With this, scores of Black Fang assassins leapt out of the buildings and blocked off the exits of the town. Igor ran towards the centre of Deggendorf and beckon the lordlings to follow him.

In a dusty bungalow on the side of the street where Eliwood and his friends were battling the Black Fang, Nino sat at the table, waiting patiently for the recipient of her piece of parchment.

"I'm sure this is place, but he's not here yet," she mused to herself quietly. She got up and walked around the room. "Beautiful weather today, perfect for taking out evil-doers!" At this, she let out a long sigh. "Here I am again, running errands..." she said to herself irritably as she listened to the sounds of battle outside. "I wish my mum can see me as more worthy, so I could help out in battle. I'd _love_ to fight alongside Linus!"

Suddenly, she heard a swish from behind her. Turning around in alarm, she saw a stout man with spiky red hair. It was Jaffar, the Angel of Death.

"Whoa!" she cried. "Don't scare me like that, Jaffar! What happened? You're never late for anything."

The cold-blooded assassin's face was paler than usual. Slightly shivering, he replied: "My last job took longer than expected. If you have my next mission, I would like to hear it."

Realising why she was there in the first place, Nino grabbed the piece of parchment that she was carrying around. "Oh right, mum gave this to me," she told him sweetly. However, as she stepped closer to the man, she let out a gasp of shock. "Whoa, what happened, Jaffar?" she asked with alarm. "You're covered in blood!"

Jaffar was indeed soaked in blood. "It's just a scratch," he mouthed quietly. "Pay no attention to it." Nino shook her head.

"Scratches don't bleed like that, Jaffar!" she cried. "Let me see if I can help!"

"No, forget it!" Jaffar retorted with marked exhaustion. "I need... the... next... target, hurry..." With this, he eyes rolled to the top of his head as he collapsed on the ground.

Nino's eyes opened wide in shock as her heart pounded against her chest ferociously, mind in total chaos. "Jaffar, wake up!" she cried as she shook him. "Oh my God, what do I do? Help, someone!" Lifting up the assassin and resting him on the bed, she immediately pulled out a piece cloth from the draw and started wrapping it around the man's wound. Next, she went to the well to retrieve some water for him.

Unfortunately for the young girl, the battle outside was getting more and more fierce. A villager knocked on the door to try and hide from the commotion.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Nino asked the villager irritably as she opened the door. "I have an injured man here, please leave! You'll upset my patient!" The villager stammered his apologies and left as Nino slammed the door firmly shut.

As the battle ensued, an aging armour knight walked around the town aimlessly. "Not again!" he growled irritably. "I could have _sworn_ that Caelin was in this direction!" Looking around, he finally realised that there was a battle going on. His eyes fixed on a woman wearing an oriental-style dress fighting against a group of assassins.

"Lady Lyndis!" he called as he joined into the fray, killing two assassins with his spear.

"Sir Wallace! What are you doing here?" Lyn asked with surprise. Wallace was a retired commander who served Caelin, and was Kent and Sain's mentor. A year ago, he decided to help Lyn reclaim the Caelin throne, and then went straight back into retirement.

"I'm only here on a small personal matter, Lady Lyndis," he replied. "Do you want my help? Show me, Sir Wallace, the enemy! They will taste my lance!" Without hesitation, Lyn agreed for him to help. Actually, Wallace had a very clear objective for going to Bern, which he did not tell her. After talking to her in Caelin about the bandits who had slain her entire clan, he travelled to Bern to kill them to help her avenge them. Although he knew that she wanted to kill them herself, he did not want her judgement and kind character to become clouded with hatred.

After about an hour of intense fighting, Eliwood, Hector and Lyn, along with Nils and Ninian, who were helping in the formation, reached the centre of town where Linus was waiting. Seeing the lordlings finally make it to him, the Mad Dog smiled with satisfaction.

"You're Eliwood, right?" he called. Raising his sword, Eliwood slowly approached the man.

"Are you the leader of this group?" he asked as Linus nodded. "I have a question for you. I have heard that the Black Fang possessed strong convictions. If this is true, then why do you, one of the highest commanders of the group follow a fiend like Nergal?"

Linus raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Nergal? You mean that creepy man Sonia introduced my father to?" he asked. "This has nothing to do with him. I only follow the orders that are given to me, by my father and leader of the Black Fang, Brendan Reed!"

"And do you ever question the justness of the orders given?" Eliwood enquired. Linus let out a long laugh.

"Question, what is there to question?" he sneered. "Neither my father nor my brother makes mistakes!" Raising his sword and shield, he pointed them at Eliwood. "Enough talk!" he declared. "I don't need my brother to finish you off. Pray, I'll give you that much time. Repent all the evil you have done now and sleep, for I, Linus the Mad Dog, will dispense you the Fang's justice!" With this, he leapt at the three lordlings and attacked furiously.

Eliwood, Hector and Lyn could immediately tell that Linus was at least three times stronger than any opponent they had fought so far. Even with his rather reckless style, the Mad Dog never left any weaknesses for the lordlings to exploit with his power and agility. His strength easily matched Hector's, allowing him to easily defend against the Ostian's brutish offense while simultaneously unleashing his own raw power on Eliwood and Lyn. Even with his huge bulk, Linus moved extremely quickly, jumping and spinning around like a feather. It was clear that he had been training his skills for at least ten to twenty years. While individually, none of them could match up to Linus' abilities, their formation was able to save them from getting completely destroyed. Realising that their conventional methods were not going to work, Nils and Ninian quickly shifted just enough of Hector's energy to both Eliwood and Lyn, allowing them to go on the offensive while keeping Hector's offensive power relatively intact. Fuelled by the additional energy, Eliwood and Lyn decided to up the ante and force Linus to defend against three fronts. Seeing the lords go on the offensive, Linus backed away slightly but stayed calm, fending off their attacks with his sword and shield.

After about four hundred exchanges, it was beginning to become tiring for Linus to continue defending against the relentless assaults of the three young lords. Nils and Ninian's energy-shifting abilities were starting to show their effectiveness. Since they were attacking in a formation, their vigor was not draining away as fast as the Mad Dog's, who was fighting one on three. 'Shit, my brother was right,' Linus thought to himself. 'They are able to use their numbers to tire me out, if I had only waited for Lloyd to come back, they wouldn't stand a chance at all.'

"Stop!" he called as he raised his hands to the air in defeat. "I lost. My brother tried to warn me, you are strong, too strong." The lordlings nodded in acknowledgement and lowered their own weapons.

"I noticed something," Eliwood began. "You did your best to keep the villagers clear of the fighting."

Linus nodded, but was rather taken aback. "Of course I did, the Black Fang does its business in honour," he replied with slight annoyance. "You are our target, not them. What business do they have with us? The Black Fang are not your average assassin or mercenary group, they are protectors of the weak and oppressed, don't you ever forget this!"

"Then why are we enemies if the Black Fang fights with honour?" Eliwood quizzed him. "You are not evil, why are you attacking us?"

Linus spat on the floor. "You're the one who's supposed to be evil!" he argued indignantly. "None of this makes sense! Sonia told our father that you're a band of criminals, but the way you carry yourself around appears to be the complete opposite! My father agreed like usual, and naturally, I would obey!" Sheathing his sword, he began to walk away.

"I'm going to withdraw for the moment," he told the lordlings. "I'll be back when I straighten all this out. If we are in the wrong, I will apologise to you personally. If you truly are evil, then I'll be back with my brother and we won't show any mercy!" With this, he walked off into the distance.

"Whew, that was a close one," Hector sighed in relief. "It's kind of lucky that he gave up, you know? I don't how much longer we would have lasted, he was so much stronger than anyone else in the Black Fang we've faced so far, save maybe that Jaffar guy." Eliwood nodded in agreement.

"The Black Fang seems to have some honour after all," he mused. "Maybe this is all just a huge misunderstanding, or maybe they are really just being manipulated by Nergal. We should talk to their head, Brendan Reed and sort this out. Perhaps we can resolve this without fighting any more."

Hector shook his head. "We should go back to the inn first and see if we have any word from Lord Pent," he suggested, in which Lyn and Eliwood both agreed.

o0o

As the sun started setting, Linus stumbled out of the town like a madman. "This is just so wrong!" he cried indignantly. "Our father never makes mistakes, yet those runts are clearly not evil. I need to speak with my brother about this. I'm not sure if it's wise trust that woman..." He never finished his sentence when suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his back. Looking around, he saw an eerie woman with jet black hair and golden eyes, as well as a claw that penetrated where his heart would have been.

"Mad Dog Linus..." Limstella whispered in cold voice with a smile. "Such wonderful quintessence..."

Linus immediately felt all of his energy being drained away. Head spinning in deliriousness, he could only mutter "Shit, I've blundered. Lloyd, I'm sorry..." as his life was robbed from himself.

About half an hour later, his body was found when roar pierced through the air. Lloyd had returned. "Linus! What happened, Linus?" he cried as he ran up to his brother's corpse. Seeing the claw wound in his brother's chest, Lloyd swung his sword in rage. He suddenly grabbed a villager that was walking past and slammed his against the wall.

"Who did this?" he growled menacingly. "What happened here?" The villager was scared out of his wits.

"There was a battle earlier today..." he stuttered. "That man, Lord Linus, challenged three travellers to a duel, and..." Furious, Lloyd threw the man to the floor.

"Linus, you idiot!" he shouted at his brother's corpse. "After all I told you, you didn't listen, now look what's happened!" Bowing his head, he sighed in frustration and grief. "Wait for me, brother," he whispered quietly. "I'll be joining you soon enough, and I'll be bringing those fools' corpses to you as a gift."

On the other side of town, Nino was sitting patiently next to Jaffar's immobile form, trembling in fear. However, after waiting for hours, she finally let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw Jaffar open his eyes.

"You..." he whispered as he spotted her. "I know you from somewhere..."

"Thank goodness you're awake!" Nino said happily. "Of course you know me, we've met many times. I don't think I told you my name, though, I'm Nino, Sonia's daughter!" Nodding in acknowledgement, Jaffar slowly got up from his bed woozily.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked coldly. "Have you forgotten the law of the Fang? 'Sacrifice the wounded to salvage the strong', I was unconscious and alone outside our safe halls. You should have obeyed the law and killed me, then fled. Why didn't you?"

His words completely took Nino by surprise. "But... but..." she stuttered in shock. "I can't just let a comrade die like that!"

Jaffar snorted in contempt. "You're such a fool!" he growled. "Where's my mission? Tell me what it is!" Nino was frozen where she stood, but gasped in shock as the bigger man suddenly swayed side to side, losing focus as he started bleeding again.

"Don't move!" she called. "Here, lean on me!" Jaffar could only do as he was told as Nino helped him back onto the bed with care. "Please don't die, Jaffar," she whispered sadly. "You mustn't die."


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10: The Crazed Beast and the Greedy Pegasus Knight_

Desmond, the King of Bern, was a tall and awe-inspiring figure. At least a hundred and ninety centimetres in height, he stood taller than most men. However, behind this imposing façade was a core of mediocrity and embarrassing fear. On the other hand, Queen Hellene, his arranged wife, was a beautiful woman born of Etrurian nobility.

At the royal manse in the capital, Queen Hellene was waiting in anticipation and pride. It was ten days until her son, Prince Zephiel would named successor to the Bern's throne. At last, it would be a chance to show the superiority of the Etrurian people with the first king of Bern to be born from an Etrurian noblewoman. She could only jitter in excitement.

"Your Royal Highness!" called a guard. "His Majesty the King has arrived!" Lifting her head slightly, she saw the king walk into her room, radiating with an aura of invincibility and infallibility.

"Your Majesty..." Hellene greeted. "It is a pleasure to see you! What a glorious day that sees you grace us with presence."

Desmond snorted with contempt. "Where's Zephiel?" he asked gruffly. Closing her eyes idly, she corrected him: "_Your son_ is practising his falconry."

"You're as crafty as ever, woman," Desmond spat. "You knew I was coming, and you sent him away didn't you? Hmph, you will have to do. I want to speak about the boy's coming-of-age ceremony, it is in ten days."

Hellene smiled dreamily. "At last..." she breathed in anticipation. "Once the ceremony ends, our son, who has been lingering in the shadows for so long, will finally be received by all of Bern to be the legitimate heir to your throne. Do you know how long he has longed for this day?"

Desmond rolled his eyes. "Cease your complaints, woman," he ordered. "You and Zephiel, the queen and heir of Bern, have never wanted for anything else, haven't you?"

Hellene nodded as she smiled evilly. "That's right," she sneered. "My child, who through _me_, carries the noble blood of Etruria in his proud veins, will in ten days be named as the rightful heir to the throne. While we live here in the manse, you live in the palace with that woman! My lord husband, you must be so disappointed that she didn't bear you a prince but a princess!"

"Hellene! You go too far!" Desmond roared angrily as he slammed his fist on the table. Hellene did not seem to notice.

"Hahaha!" she continued. "No matter how much you may dote on your illegitimate daughter, Guinevere, she will forever be destined to be nothing more than a base born shadow! It is my son, Zephiel, who shall rule over Bern, _my_ son! How it gives so much pleasure to say those words!"

His face flushed in fury, Desmond could only close his eyes and sigh deeply. "Are you done speaking your cursed mind, woman?" he growled. "Well, I have something to say to you as well. Last night, from the palace, the Fire Emblem was stolen away by a villain. I'm surprised that you haven't heard of this."

This time, it was Hellene's turn to flush. The blood drained out of her face like a bucket that had suddenly lost its bottom. "It can't be, you're so wicked, Your Majesty!" she laughed maniacally. "Please tell me, who would believe such a tale? The Fire Emblem is Bern's greatest national treasure! No gem in existence is its equal! Stealing such a heavily guarded object is surely impossible!"

Desmond snorted in satisfaction at seeing Hellene's response. "Unfortunately, what I say is true," he snickered. "You know the importance of the Fire Emblem. It is the symbol of the heir, the heart of the ceremony. Without it, the ceremony must be cancelled."

Hearing his words, Hellene let out a long scream of despair, all form of composure evaporating in a wisp. "No!" she cried hysterically. "This is your doing, isn't it? How can you hate Zephiel like this? He is of your blood and he is your beloved son! How can you do this?"

Desmond sighed regretfully. "I have heard that Zephiel a gifted student, a stunning fighter and excels in everything he tries," he mumbled. "I have also heard that the people of Bern love him."

"Of course he is!" Hellene piped up both indignantly and proudly. "He is a worthy son!" However Desmond shook his head.

"I was good either neither books nor blades," he said quietly. "While some of the citizens may find me tolerable, I cannot say that I command the love of my subjects in the way Zephiel does. He and I are polar opposites in every way. It is hard to believe he is my son."

"Zephiel _is_ Your Majesty's child!" Hellene retorted. "How can you even say that? Your Grace, you know this to be truth!"

Eyes reduced to slits, Desmond turned to leave. "My child or not, without the Emblem, the ceremony cannot go ahead, without the ceremony, he will not be named heir," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "Mark my words, and prepare yourself, woman!" With this, he swept from her room and out of sight, leaving Hellene to wallow in her own despair. Collapsing into her chair, she could only weep bitterly, almost to the point of running out of breath.

"I beg your pardon, Your Highness," one of her servants interrupted her. "You have a visitor."

"I will see no-one," she choked. "Send him home before I get angry." The servant went outside to the visitor and told her to leave.

"It's alright," Louise told him. "You may go, I'll take care of this." Nodding the servant left her to her business. "Lady Hellene, it's been far too long!" she greeted as she walked into the room. "It is I, Louise."

"Louise, is it truly you?" Hellene gasped with surprise. Without thinking she got up from her chair and embraced her distantly related cousin, and without thinking emptied more of her tear ducts into the woman's arms.

"What has happened, my queen?" Louise asked softly and tenderly. "It is such a shame to see your beauty marred by tears. If it would please you, I would like to hear your troubles. My husband is also here with me, perhaps he will be able to lend you a hand."

Raising her head slightly, Hellene's eyes gained a flicker of hope. "Lord Pent is also here?" she asked as Louise nodded. Satisfied, she proceeded to tell the Reglays of how the Fire Emblem was stolen from the castle vault, and how it would be impossibly for Zephiel to become named heir to the throne.

That night, Pent and Louise returned to Deggendorf where Eliwood and his friends were staying.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Pent apologised as he returned to the inn. "I can't say the mission was a completely failure, but... we've got a task to perform." Seeing the lords look at each other in confusion, he continued: "Queen Hellene is looking for something. If we can find it for her, she has told us that she will consider helping you. We have until the morning in ten days. Will you do it? The decision is yours."

Eliwood could not be more grateful to Pent for his help. "We can't thank you enough, Lord Pent," he said excitedly. "Of course we'll do it, it is definitely a test that we were destined to take. What is the queen looking for, may I ask?"

"The Fire Emblem, the national treasure of the Kingdom of Bern," Pent answered. "According to the king, it was stolen by a thief last night." Hector's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What?" he exclaimed. "How the hell can someone steal the Fire Emblem? I thought it was supposed to be one of the most guarded treasures in the world!" Pent shrugged in equal surprise.

"Don't ask me, all I know that is the situation now," he replied.

o0o

The next morning, Eliwood and his friends decided to try and gather up information on the disappearance of the Fire Emblem. By that time, word had already spread that the Fire Emblem had been stolen, sending the entire kingdom into total chaos. Queen Hellene had offered a massive reward to whoever finds the gem, as well as another reward that almost as big to whoever finds the culprit behind the crime. Many people had speculations of what had happened, but no-one had any clue where to start looking.

After snooping around the various towns, Hector believed that there was a substantial lead to start looking for the Fire Emblem. According to a mysterious hooded figure he had met down in the pub, he heard that a few hooded men were spotted running from the Bern Keep the night the Fire Emblem was stolen. According to him, he tailed after them and saw them ride off into the lake and marshes of Bern, which was about fifty kilometres from Deggendorf, and finally stopped at an area that was guarded by three fortresses. Deciding that they had to start somewhere, Hector had convinced Eliwood and Lyn, albeit only slightly, to follow this lead as it was the best they had at the time. It took them about an hour getting to their destination.

As they approached the three fortresses, a rather eerie but pretty woman appeared at one of the forts. It was Sonia, the wife of Brendan Reed.

"You there, I want you to open the top security cell," she ordered coldly to a guard standing at the door. The guard was rather taken aback.

"Lady Sonia?" he gasped. "I was ordered that no-one may see the Crazed Beast!" Sonia rolled her eyes impatiently and snorted in contempt. Raising her hand and gathering her power, she ordered: "Open the cell. Do you hear me, or do you want me to deal you the Fang's judgement for failing to heed your orders?"

Scared out of his wits, the guard could only obey. Taking out his keys, he led Sonia to the cell on the top level of the fort where the supposed 'Crazed Beast' called home. Satisfied, Sonia walked into the cell and saw a rather powerful looking man who, although having lost substantial amount of his former bulk, kept the proud aura of a warrior.

"Oho, aren't you a pretty one?" he sneered at Sonia with silky voice. "You're the first woman that I have met in God-knows-how-long! I pray that you'll forgive me for the cramped quarters." Sonia paid him no attention. Instead, she held up a long piece of parchment and reading its contents in a dull, monotonic voice.

"Pascal Grentzer," she called him. "You were formerly the Count of the Lakeside District of Landskron in the Kingdom of Bern. It also says here that you were once a man whose battlefield prowess was feared far and wide, until you invited all of your citizens into your castle and butchered every last one of them to find the thief whom I was told stole one of your scarlet gems. Your crimes would eventually be found out by the royal court. After being stripped of your title and sentenced to death by Wyvern General Murdock, you fled and joined the Black Fang. Is anything I have said in my summary inaccurate?"

Pascal seemed impressed. "You know quite me well, it seems," he nodded. Sonia smiled and continued reading her piece of parchment.

"After joining the Black Fang," she continued. "You rose quickly in the ranks due to your abilities. It says here you were even made one of the Four Fangs once, only to be replaced by Jerme, who would then be replaced by Jaffar. I have heard that Brendan calls you 'the Crazed Beast', the one who showed so much potential, but opposed the Black Fang's ideology. You are a monster who would massacre an entire village to find and destroy one person, am I right?"

Pascal snickered at his description. "Brendan doesn't know how to enjoy his work," he chuckled. "He's always said 'never hurt the innocents'." He spat at the ground in contempt. " 'The Black Fang brings justice to those above the law'," he continued while rolling his eyes. "Quite silly little jokes, don't you think?"

Sonia nodded in agreement. "I'm going to release you, Count," she told him, much to his surprise. "I'll do it on one condition. You see, I have a job for you, something you'll looove. If you succeed, I'll arrange so you have your old position as one of the Four Fangs be restored. However, if you fail, my own hand will deal you the Fang's judgement. Are you interested?"

Pascal shrugged. "Eh, why not?" he said excitedly. "It can't be worse than rotting my ass off here, and I must say, I do looove my work. Now tell me, what is the name of my target?"

Satisfied with his response, Sonia ordered that he be given a spear to fight with, and however much food that he desired. "Your target's name is Eliwood of Pherae, an noble from Lycia," she told him. "He has pissed my master off, therefore he must die. Make sure he dies painfully, won't you?" Pascal laughed in response.

"Of course I will!" he snickered. "You underestimate me too much, woman, I would make him die painfully for my own pleasure!"

o0o

"This is a really remote area, isn't it?" Hector noted as he scanned the area. Surrounding them were lakes and wetland, devoid of human activity. Lyn was rather annoyed that she was brought to this place, and believed that Hector had been swindled.

"Hector, are you sure about this?" she asked impatiently. "Is the Fire Emblem really here? This place seems way too desolate for something like this."

"I paid a small ransom for this information," Hector explained. "There should be no mistake. Look, those are the three run-down fortresses I was told about! The thieves are supposed to base themselves there."

Lyn looked unconvinced when Ninian suddenly piped up: "Enemies approach!" Hector looked at her in surprise, and then after looking into the distance, he indeed saw Black Fang assassins pouring out of the forts to attack them. Leading them was Pascal Grentzer, the Crazed Beast.

"Lord Pascal, are you sure?" an assassin next to him asked. "Shouldn't we tell Chief Brendan that we've found them?" His question was answered by a hard back-hand to the face.

"Are you a fool?" Pascal spat. "If we tell anyone, the Four Fangs will come and take over. I will not let my prey be snatched away by those spoilt children! If you wish to be executed for desertion, I won't stop you from fleeing. It's your own decision. Although, if I were you, I do think it would be fun more to fight, don't you think? Shall we proceed gentleman?"

"See?" Hector said cheekily as he pointed to the incoming Black Fang assassins. "If the Fire Emblem wasn't here, why would they have so much security, hm?"

Lyn looked livid. "You're going to be wrong one day," she shot back. "And when you are, I want to be there to make sure you swallow the humiliation fully!"

Hector snorted with amusement. "Alright, I was told that these three forts are all linked, so if you we seize one, they may just move the Emblem to another and sneak it away," he told the group. "I need three groups to seize the three side forts. Any volunteers?"

While the middle fort was relatively straight-forward to get to, the other two were separated from the group by a lake and a large marshland, respectively. It would be incredibly difficult for knights on horseback to move across them before the other forts were captured.

"Lord Hector, Lord Eliwood, Lady Lyndis," Fiora called as she stepped forward with Florina. "My sister and I can fly across and keep an eye on them. While we cannot take them by ourselves, we should be able make sure that no-one smuggles anything out of the forts for long enough that the rest of our forces are able to catch up with them."

Florina nodded in agreement as she pulled out of Delphi Shield, a shield which protects flying soldiers from arrows. "It's a pity that there are three forts, while only my sister and I are here," she sighed. "If Farina were here, it would be too easy..."

Fiora shot her sister a rather dirty look. "Florina, there's no point mentioning her now," she snapped with finality. Hector and Eliwood thought it was a rather good idea, so they agreed to Fiora's offer. They sent the fighters on horseback to traverse the perimeter of the lake while sending magic wielders to cross the marsh while heading for the middle base themselves. Comparing to the battle with Linus' group the day before, the Black Fang assassins they faced in the lakes and marshes could not hold a candle to them. However, due to the fact that they split up their group into three, and the terrain was highly unfavourable, they proceeded rather slowly. The lordlings were getting more and more impatient, and this was not helped when suddenly, they heard someone calling them.

"Say, excuse me!" called a rather attractive young pegasus knight with short, dark blue hair that was flying toward them. Turning around, Hector raised his axe and motioned for Eliwood and Lyn to keep pressing forward.

"You're really pushing yourself, taking on all these enemies!" noted the pegasus knight. Hector frowned in annoyance.

"Do you think I'm fighting these guys for fun?" he retorted angrily. "Who are you, anyway? Your voice sounds familiar..."

"Me? I'm Farina, a mercenary attached to the Strongwings, Ilia's third division of pegasus knights! No doubt you've heard of me!" she introduced herself. Seeing that Hector was still suspicious, she added: "Who was the one who directed you here to find the Fire Emblem, hm?"

Hector gasped in shock as he realised her voice was exactly the same as the one who gave him the directions to the three forts. Farina had covered herself up and dressed like an eerie man to inform Hector of the location of the Fire Emblem, not because she cared, but because she wanted to join an army and find a job.

"You! I thought you were a man!" Hector said loudly. "What are you doing here?"

Farina laughed. "It's about time you noticed," she said cheekily. "I came out here because there's a chance for me to make some gold. Do you know how much they offered me? Only a fool would work for such a piddling amount! Skills like mine don't come cheap!"

Hector rolled his eyes. 'We're in a battle here,' he thought. 'Hopefully I can just get her over on our side so I just shut her up, she's almost as bad as Serra! Why do all the cute women come noisy?'

"You seem... pretty..." he blurted out as Farina reduced her eyes to slits. "...sure of yourself," he corrected. "I've heard Ilian mercenaries never betray their employers. So, how much would it cost to hire you?"

Farina's eyes morphed from a line to a circle. "Ah, so you've an appreciation for true warriors after all?" she yapped on happily. Putting her hand to her chin in thought, she replied: "Let me see... I'll be yours for a reasonable sum of twenty thousand gold pieces."

Hector almost fell over and laughed his head off. "Twenty thousand gold pieces?" he blurted out. "Are you crazy? No sellsword is worth that much! I could buy a mansion in Etruria's wealthy district for that much!" Farina, however, did not get angry. Instead, she smiled sweetly as she put up her defence.

"I beg to differ!" she argued with passion. "Your journey is a long one, right? It would most likely be more than one battle. That requires a special contract and special arrangements! Not trying to be morbid, but this means you're to pay my family for compensation if I die. This is not mentioning bonuses and hazard pay, medical treatment..."

Hector had heard enough. Wanting to rip his ears out from the constant yapping, he cried: "Stop! All right, all right! Your fee includes all of that, right?"

"Well, of course it does, silly!" replied Farina. "So, what will it be? Will you hire me?"

On a normal day, Hector would have played it cool and refused or even bargained, because twenty thousand gold pieces was simply ridiculous. However, Hector was driven up the wall by her mad ranting, as well as the fact that they were in the middle of a battle, he would have done anything to shut her up. He also could not keep his eyes off her, his heart beating faster than normal. 'Even though she's a bloody loudmouth, she sure has charisma,' he thought. Rushing off to Merlinus' tent, he grabbed four bags of gold, each worth containing five thousand gold pieces each and returned to Farina.

"Here it is, twenty thousand gold," Hector told her as he handed over the gold. "You happy?" Farina dropped her jaw in surprise.

"WOW!" she gasped. "You didn't even try to negotiate and paid the gold up front! Who are you?"

"I'm Hector, Marquess Ostia's brother," Hector replied. "Are you going to take the money or not?" Snapping out of her state of shock, Farina quickly pounced on the four bags of gold.

"My gold!" she cried greedily as she embraced them. "Of course I'll take it! Ostia's is the biggest territory in all of Lycia, isn't it? It is a pleasure doing business with you, noble sir!" Suddenly, turning her head in his direction, she added: "Oh, I forgot to mention. All my current possessions are included in my fee. However, anything new, like new weapons, new armour, food, you will pay for. I never cover those expenses, ever!"

"You have it all figured out, don't you?" Hector noted. "Whatever, you should put that cash back into Merlinus' tent, I doubt you'll be able to carry that around in battle. Don't worry, we won't spend it without your permission." With this, Farina put the money away and joined in the battle as Hector rushed forward to help Eliwood and Lyn, who were currently fighting with Pascal Grentzer. The Crazed Beast was taken completely by surprise when Hector's tomahawk flew across the air and struck him on the right shoulder, completely opening him up to Eliwood's sword thrust into his chest, killing him instantly.

"What kept you?" Lyn asked irritably, only to hear a reply of "some nasty business deal" from the bigger man. At that time, fireworks were shot into the air from the three forts, signalling that they were successful in capturing them all.

"Quick, let's go in and raid them to find the Fire Emblem!" Hector suggested. Walking into forts, they indeed found pathways that connected each fort with the others. However, even after turning over every rock, every solid object in the forts for four hours, there was no sign of the Fire Emblem.

"Great," Lyn muttered irritably at Hector. "I knew we should have listened to Eliwood. Your lead was nothing but a trap! What a waste of a day!" Hector was genuinely surprised, too. Calling Farina into his presence, he quickly asked her to explain everything.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" she defended herself. "I actually heard those guys say that Fire Emblem thing you were looking for was here! I didn't know it was a false lead, and why should I care?" Eliwood, Lyn, Oswin and Marcus all looked at her in confusion.

"Hector, who is she?" Eliwood asked. Hector could not help but go red in total humiliation at his huge blunder as he ordered her out of the room.

"She's the one who I did the 'nasty business deal' with," he explained. "Apparently, she dressed up as a man back in Deggendorf and informed me that the Fire Emblem was here. Now, if it was only a day that was wasted here, I won't feel anywhere near as bad as I am feeling now."

"What do you mean?" Eliwood asked with a raised eyebrow. Hector squirmed where he stood.

"Well, promise you won't get mad, but she was seriously driving me up the wall!" Hector replied. "While yes, she made a genuine mistake in passing us poor information, she kept badgering me about hiring her as a mercenary! I don't know what came over me, but I agreed to hire her and pay her twenty thousand gold pieces for her services."

The temperature of the room seemed to raise at least ten degrees as Hector explained himself. "WHAT THE HELL?" screamed Lyn. "You paid her twenty thousand gold? Are you nuts? No mercenary is worth that much, even I, who have never hired a sellsword in my entire life, know this!"

Hector could only wallow in embarrassment. "Hey, she told me that everything was covered, hazard pay, bonuses, medical treatment, life insurance..." He found himself unable to go on, realising how foolish he had truly been as Oswin cleared his throat.

"Lord Hector," he began. "You know all of that is a load of nonsense. Which mercenary have you ever heard of getting life insurance? _Their job is to die on the battlefield_! Currently, our highest paid mercenary is Rath, which Lord Eliwood and Lady Lyndis agreed to pay him five thousand gold pieces for this trip. Face it, you were played, my lord!"

"I know that!" Hector growled, red in the face. "I fucked up! Now if you excuse me, I will return to my tent and wallow in my own humiliation, okay?" With this, he stomped straight out of the room and out of sight.

Farina was busy counting her gold in Merlinus' tent when Florina walked in get their rations. "Well, if it isn't Florina!" Farina called cheerfully. Florina almost dropped her plate.

"Farina? Is it really you?" she gasped. "I've missed you so much!" Putting down her plate of food, she jumped into the older woman's arms. Farina was actually the middle child between Florina and Fiora, and after a dispute with Fiora two years ago, she ran away from home and joined Ilia's third wing of mercenaries.

"Come on, Florina, don't cry," Farina comforted her sister as she bawled into her chest. "Are you working for Lord Hector as well?" Florina ignored her question and continued sobbing.

"Fiora told me that you weren't coming back," she choked. "Why did you run away from home?"

Farina sighed in regret. "I didn't run away from home, Florina," she answered. "She said some things, I said some things, and that's all in the past now." Florina was about to continue talking when she was interrupted by a "Florina, what's taking you so long?" Fiora had walked into the tent and almost fell over in shock. "Farina?" she gasped.

Farina nodded courteously in response. "Big sister," she greeted uncomfortably. "How are you?"

Fiora sighed sadly as she saw her younger sister. "Farina, about the last time we met, I spoke too harshly..." Farina raised her hand to stop. "Don't bother talking about that, Fiora," she said crisply. "It's all in the past. If you're still worried about that big debt you owe those nobles in Bern, I can help you out with my new pay check!"

Fiora raised her eyebrow. "What pay check? How were you able to join Lord Eliwood, anyway?" she asked.

Farina laughed proudly. "You see, Lord Hector has agreed to pay me twenty thousand gold pieces, I can easily help you pay off your debt," she told her sister happily. Fiora gasped incredulously. "How?" she asked.

"Well, I'm the one who got Lord Hector into this mess," Farina explained. "Not deliberately, but I knew he wanted to find some artifact, and I heard that that group you were fighting had the artifact, or at least I thought they did, so I kind of set him up for that fight so I can join! Then, I just negotiated the price him!"

Fiora frowned angrily. "How can you just do that and steal his money?" she scolded her sister. "You're coming with me to apologise to Lord Hector right now!" Farina shook her head furiously.

"What? I never stole anything!" she argued. "It's my money, and I earned it from him! It's not my fault he didn't even bargain with me!" Seeing it was futile to try and argue with her sister, Farina stomped out of the tent angrily and walked away, out of sight.

Eliwood was sitting quietly in his tent in contemplation. How could a day have gone so wrong? Not only did the lead that Hector follow end up with absolutely nothing at all, but now they had a twenty thousand gold black hole in their funds. He knew his friend was only trying to help, but he could not help but get annoyed at his friend's foolishness. What was worse was that Lyn was refusing to speak to Hector, cutting a huge gap into their friendship.

"Lord Eliwood, are you alright?" asked a concerned voice from behind him. The hairs on Eliwood's back raised as he saw Ninian standing outside his room.

"Ninian, what a surprise," he said kindly. "I'm fine, please come in." Lacking confidence, Ninian slowly walked into the young lord's room.

"Lyn is refusing to talk to Hector after his blunder today," Eliwood sighed. "I'm annoyed at him, too, but I know he didn't mean it. I'm just concerned that their little feud might cut into the mentality of the group."

Ninian lowered her head in deep thought. "It shouldn't," she said quietly. "Lord Hector and Lady Lyn are both nice people, and they are both good friends. If you just talk to them, you should be able to put them right. As long as you keep a clear head, this problem is not hard to fix."

Hearing this, Eliwood felt slightly reassured. "Thank you, Ninian," he said to her, eliciting a confused and slightly embarrassed look from Ninian.

"What are you thanking me for, Lord Eliwood?" she whispered quietly, face going slightly pink.

Eliwood smiled kindly. "Thank you for coming to talk to me today," he said gratefully. "You're normally so introverted, to have you talking to me of your own accord makes me feel more assured for your well-being. Come on, let's go and see them together!" Standing up, he led Ninian out of the room, giving her a small kiss on the forehead as he did so. Freezing exactly where she stood, she stared at him with blank eyes and an open jaw, cheeks reddening like a blood splatter.

"You coming or not, Ninian?" Eliwood asked gently. Ninian was still staring at him, frozen to the spot, mind ablank. She could not focus on anything apart from the repeated 'lub-dup, lub-dup' of her heart pounding away against her chest. She had taken countless tortures from Nergal in the past, but nothing compared to how her chest and abdomen seemingly crushed her heart, lungs and guts all at once, simultaneously giving her a feeling of dizziness as air and blood were cut off from her brain as well as nausea from her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Eliwood asked he nudged her slightly. Coming back to reality, she nodded bashfully. "Yes!" she replied quietly as fire raged through her insides.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11: Love and Hate are Boundless_

After a night of discussion, Eliwood and the others decided to look for clues at the Bern royal palace. Still not talking to Hector, Lyn decided anything that Eliwood came up with was worth a try and quickly changed the topic whenever Hector started talking, much to his annoyance. Pressed for time, they set off the very next day and travelled north toward the palace. The royal palace of Bern was located high in the Bern Alpine region, and while the manse was the official office of the royal family, the palace was King Desmond's private residence. Although Desmond himself called the palace his home, he prohibited Queen Hellene and Prince Zephiel from entering the place, reserving it for himself, his second wife and their daughter, Guinevere. After three days of travel, Eliwood and the others had arrived at the base of the mountain in which the palace proudly stood.

"Phew, we've finally arrived," Hector sighed in relief as he stared up at the palace in awe. "Bern is the only country on the continent where wyverns still fly. With its wyvern riders, I would imagine that this castle would the most heavily-defended place anywhere."

Lyn nodded in agreement, albeit grudgingly, seeing as there was nothing she could disagree with. "Look at the path leading up the mountain's face," she pointed. "It would be almost impossible to take down the castle in a direct assault."

"I suspect that if anyone were to try and take down the castle, they would have to resort to cutting off supplies and enforcing a siege," Hector commented. "There is only one path leading up, unless they have secret passages within the mountain. Defenders positioned higher up on those cliff-edges have a clear advantage. Even the most powerful soldiers would be taken out with ease." Walking a bit closer toward the castle, Hector surveyed the surroundings and raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Would you look at that," he laughed. "They don't even have any sentries posted. They must have a lot of faith their defenses, this truly is our lucky day!"

"The surrounding terrain is probably enough to defend against most assaults," Eliwood pointed out. "They could probably make do simply with patrols in the castle. I would not like to see the mighty Bern as an enemy..."

Lyn grunted in agreement. "Although, from this impregnable fortress, the country's most precious jewel was stolen," she sighed. "I can seriously see no way any thief could crack their defences and taking the Emblem. Maybe the king really is responsible for this, but there I can seriously think of nothing to explain why he might want to do this. Let's sneak into the castle and look for clues."

"That's what I was waiting for!" Hector piped up. "I like the way you think!" Lyn snorted in contempt and turned her head.

"Whatever happens, we must not be caught," Eliwood reminded them. "If it looks impossible, turn around and come back here."

Assigning Marcus and Oswin to look after everyone else, Eliwood, Hector and Lyn slowly made their way up the mountainside where the castle stood. Ducking under rocks and hiding behind trees, it took them a good hour to reach the entrance of the castle without being spotted. After that, Lyn pulled out a rope and pulled herself up the edge of the wall. Taking out two guards with her sword quietly, she hurled the rope over and pulled Eliwood up the wall slowly, and then the two pulled the hulking mass of Hector up together. They slowly crept into the inside of the castle and looked around.

"Is this an inner garden? Where do you think the treasure vault is?" hissed Lyn quietly. Before Eliwood could answer, they heard three people walking toward their direction, one of them sounded like a little girl who was singing cheerfully, the other two seemingly from a different direction.

"Quiet, someone's coming this way!" Eliwood whispered as adrenaline pumped around his body. Seeing a nearby shrub, they quickly dived into it and observed the scene. A young, blonde man of around age seventeen wearing smart, royal clothes marched into the garden with a purple armoured knight who appeared to be the young man's bodyguard. Two seconds later, a young blonde girl of around five years of age ran through another into the garden, diving into the young man's arms.

"My big brother, hello, Zephiel!" yelled the little girl happily. The young was indeed the crowned prince of Bern, Zephiel. Next to him was Wyvern General Murdock, his bodyguard and his mentor and aide. The little girl was none other than Zephiel's half-sister, Princess Guinevere.

"Hello, Guinevere," Zephiel replied kindly. "Have you been well?"

Guinevere nodded energetically. "Yep! I've been fine, Zephiel!" she squeaked. "However, if you come and visit me everyday, I'd be even better, much, much better!"

Zephiel beamed in amusement. "Every day?" he chuckled. "That's an awful lot, but I'll come by as often as possible, all for you, dear little sister." Guinevere jumped for joy as she heard this and buried herself in her brother's arms.

"Guinevere!" called an older man as Zephiel froze where he stood, colour draining out of his face in an instant. "Guinevere, where are you, lass?"

"I'm here, daddy!" replied Guinevere. "Welcome home!" King Desmond marched pompously into the garden. Completely ignoring his son, he walked up to Guinevere and embraced her lovingly.

"There you are, have you been a good girl while I was gone?" he asked. "Come on, give your daddy a kiss. You're as adorable as ever."

Clearing his throat, Zephiel greeted his father stiffly: "Well met, father."

Turning his head slowly, Desmond's eyes slowly contracted. "Hmph, Zephiel," he snorted contemptuously. "You take the same unpleasant tone as your mother." Before Zephiel could utter a single reply, Desmond barked: "Silence! What brings you to my castle?"

Rigid as a block of wood, Zephiel bowed to his father. "Ah yes, Murdock," he called as the older man stepped forward, hands around a tiny fox. "We were hunting in the forest earlier, father," he explained. "We found this and thought Guinevere might like it."

Yipping in delight, Guinevere piped up: "Eeeek, a baby fox? It's so cute! Is it really for me? Really?"

Zephiel nodded. "Do you like it?" he asked.

"Of course I do!" Guinevere said loudly as she nodded frantically. "I love you so much, Zephiel!"

Desmond was standing on the side, face reddening and his breathing became heavier and heavier as he watched Zephiel and Guinevere talked lovingly. "Guinevere, go and play from a while," he ordered gruffly. Delighted, Guinevere took the fox and walked away, talking happily: "Okay, daddy. Let's go, you lovely little fox!" Once Guinevere was well out of earshot, Desmond rounded on his son.

"I thought I told you to stay away from this castle," he growled dangerously as his eyes were reduced to slits.

Zephiel sighed guiltily. "Yes, I know, father," he said quietly. "I beg your pardon on this. It's just I heard thatGuinevere was ill, and I was worried."

Desmond snorted. "Hmph, you mean you came to see if she would die, didn't you?" he spat bitterly. Zephiel flushed furiously, as Murdock stepped forward to defend him.

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty," he interrupted. "The prince was..." His speech was cut off immediately by a "Silence!" from Desmond. "Hold your tongue, Murdock!" he yelled. "You have not been given authority to speak! Do not forget who you serve! It's me, the King of Bern!"

"It's all right, Murdock," Zephiel said quietly. Turning back to Desmond, he stood his ground and continued: "Father, I don't know what rumours you have been hearing, but I would never want my sister harmed in any way, you should know this."

Desmond had lost his patience. Not listening to what Zephiel was saying, he growled: "You and your mother think of nothing more than stealing my throne! You piss me off! Get out of here and return to the manse. Never come back again!"

Zephiel sighed sadly. "As you wish," he said in a defeated voice. "I beg your leave, father." Sweeping his cloak, he led Murdock out of the castle and returned to the capital. As he watched his son walk away, Desmond stood frozen to the spot, unable to decipher his own feelings. On one hand, he hated Zephiel for being good at everything, even at getting the attention of his own daughter. However, on the other hand, he felt a slight twinge of guilt at how he had just treated his own son. "No matter how many times I warn him, he still comes," he whispered to himself irritably. "He is indeed my own flesh and blooded son, so why does the very sight of him piss me off? I don't understand!"

His question was answered when he heard a high laugh from behind him. "Hee hee hee, it is jealousy, my king," snickered a female voice. Turning around, Desmond saw a long, black haired woman dressed in very little clothing. She had blood red lips and golden eyes.

"Ah, Sonia," he acknowledged. "Is the Emblem safe?" Sonia nodded. "Yes, I have it my possession. It is all like we have planned."

"Good," Desmond said as he gave her thumbs-up. "While it is unlikely, the queen may attempt to win it back. She has already proposed a huge reward for it. Are you prepared?"

"Of course I am," Sonia said sweetly. "I won't fail, it's locked away within the Black Fang's fortress. No-one will be able to take it back alive."

Looking around to make sure no-one was listening, Desmond ordered: "Keep it hidden until the dusk of the cancelled ceremony, then return it to me." His voice becoming even softer, he continued: "What about my other request?"

"One of the Four Fangs will tend to it," Sonia replied. "There will be no mistakes. However, we have one problem. The man protecting the prince... General Murdock, he is young but very well respected. Should we finish him off as well if he is in the way? This may require some extra backup should he be present."

Desmond thought carefully. "Murdock..." he murmured. "He has a low birth, but his combat skills have earned him the title of Wyvern General. It would be a great pity if Bern were to lose him. I'll think of something to remove him from Zephiel's side. Will that do?"

"Yes, it would a great help," Sonia replied gratefully. Suddenly, she turned her head back and scanned the area. "I sense someone," she muttered as they heard Guinevere singing as she approached them. "Daddy, big brother, where are you?" she asked.

"Don't worry," Desmond assured her. "It's only my daughter." Turning back to him, Sonia told him: "Do not forget the Black Fang's role once we are successful, Your Majesty."

Desmond nodded in acknowledgement. "Of course, now quickly, get out of here," he ordered. With a quick turn, Sonia disappeared as Guinevere walked into the garden.

"Zephiel!" she called. "This fox doesn't want to play with me!" Looking around and noticing that he was missing, Guinevere turned to her father. "Where is my brother?" she asked innocently.

"He had an errand to perform and left," Desmond lied. Guinevere pouched her lips and banged her little fists against her hips in a tantrum.

"No!" she cried. "I wanted to play with him!" Squatting down, Desmond shook his head.

"Come on, Guinevere," he beckoned. "I'll play with you." However, the little girl had other ideas.

"No, I wanted to play with him, not you!" she squealed as Desmond's face flushed in fury. "I'm going to go and call him back. Here, hold my fox!" Handing the little animal to her father, she sprinted out toward the main gates, calling "Zephiel, Zephiel!"

As he watched his daughter chase her brother in futility, Desmond flared his nostrils with pure white hatred. "Zephiel, you little knave..." he growled. "How _dare_ you try and steal my Guinevere's love... you will know your place! Attend me!" A soldier attended him within ten seconds. "Take this beast and kill it!" Desmond spat. "I want it out of my sight right now! Just don't tell Guinevere what you're up to!" The soldier nodded, took the fox and set off to give it a royal execution.

Eliwood, Lyn and Hector watched the drama unfold with great interest and shock. "This is worse than I have imagined," Eliwood whispered. "The Black Fang has already reached the king."

"Their plans for Lycia failed, now they're targeting Bern," Hector said quietly. "If a country as powerful as Bern moves, peace knows no hope... We need to find the Fire Emblem and return it to the queen as quickly as possible. If we do that, she'll point us toward the Shrine of Seals, and we'll be able to stop Nergal, hopefully."

Lyn nodded her approval. "Mmm, that's our goal," she whispered. "Let's go back and meet everyone to search for the fortress."

o0o

As Eliwood and the others sneaked into the royal palace, Nils and Ninian both sat about fifty metres away from everyone else in peace. As soon as the lords left, Ninian started staring up at the castle with worry, without taking her eyes off for even a second. As time crept on, she become more and more jittery in her anxiety. 'Have they been captured?' she wondered. Seeing his sister so agitated, Nils tried talking to her in an attempt to distract her from her troubles.

"What do you think of Lord Hector, Ninian?" he asked. "He's quite a strange guy, don't you agree?" Ninian smiled but looked at him sternly.

"Nils, you can't just say that," she scolded him. "You're being impolite when you call him strange."

Glad to see that Ninian has calmed down slightly, Nils continued: "But it's true, he _is_ strange. He doesn't put on airs and acts pompously like other nobles. He even lets me ride on his shoulders. While he's really pushy and rough, he's really nice, too. I like him. If people of long ago were like him, everyone could have gotten along better, don't you think?" Ninian could not help but nod in agreement, but talk of Hector made her worried about Eliwood again. Turning her head back to the castle, she mumbled: "I wonder how Lord Eliwood and the others are doing..."

Nils sighed as he heard her concerns. "Please, Ninian," he began. "That's all you've been thinking about since they left, isn't it? I understand your concern for Lord Eliwood, but..." He never got to finish his sentence when Ninian's head suddenly flashed around and shot him an alarmed look, silencing him quickly. "Nils!" she gasped. "I... I..." Try as she might, she could not speak as her face reddened.

"Ninian, you don't have to hide it from me," Nils said with concern. "I know you better than anyone. There is no-one in this group that doubts your feelings towards Lord Eliwood. I understand your feelings, too, but you must not fall in love with him, you know? We are different from them. It's just impossible."

Closing her eyes and sighing sadly, Ninian nodded, got up and started walking away. "Ninian, where are you going?" Nils asked.

"I need time to think," she replied with an uneven tone. "May I be alone, please?" Seeing the look of pain and confusion on his sister's face, Nils thought was wiser not to intrude and let her be. Walking to a nearby tree and sitting down by herself, Ninian's mind was in total chaos as she wrestled with her conscience.

"You cannot be with him," her conscience told her. 'You and Lord Eliwood are worlds and years apart. How can you expect for him to show you the same affection that you have shown him?"

"I don't care!" she cried in her mind. "I love Lord Eliwood with all my heart. I know that we are different, that it is impossible for us, but what you and Nils are telling me is something I cannot do!"

"You foolish girl, don't let your emotions cloud your better judgement," her conscience replied. "Do you not realise that if you cannot control yourself, you will endanger the entire mission? Is that what you want for yourself or Lord Eliwood? It's not just you and him, what about the entire world? Do you want your home to be ravaged due to your poor judgement?"

"Of course I don't!" Ninian retorted as hot tears of frustration and despair welled up from within. "But... I just can't... Lord Eliwood is just so nice, he's the only one who has ever accepted me. Of course I wish that I could just lose these feelings and do what's right, but I just cannot! Just these few hours that he has been away has driven daggers into heart, how can I avoid him for any longer than this?"

"Hmph, do you really think he accepts you?" her conscience countered. "How do you know he is not just an infatuated young lord that lusts for you? Wouldn't it hurt you even more when he dumps you when he's found the one he truly loves?"

"No, I refuse to believe that!" Ninian actually cried aloud. Realising that she may have blurted out her own private thoughts, she exercised some discipline and continued arguing with her conscience silently. "Lord Eliwood _is_ sincere, I will not let it be otherwise!" Clutching her head in her hands, she yelled in anguish as she battled with herself.

"Are you alright?" asked a deep voice. It was Hawkeye. Turning away timidly, Ninian replied: "Yes, I'm fine, I'm just thinking to myself. Thank you for caring for someone like me, Lord Hawkeye."

Hawkeye nodded in acknowledgement. "In the village, I have a daughter," he began. "You look like you could be a friend of hers."

"The village?" Ninian asked curiously.

"The village in Nabata," Hawkeye explained. "It is my home. Deep within the dunes and behind the desert wind, lies our home, the village of humans and dragons."

Ninian's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. "Dragons?" she asked incredulously.

"Our village, Arcadia, is protected by Lord Athos," Hawkeye continued. "Humans and dragons live together in peace. There is no fighting."

"I... have travelled with Nils for long, long time," Ninian mused quietly. "I have never heard of it... what a wonderful place that it must be... dragons living with people, I have dreamt of it, but I never would have imagined that it is existed." Turning to Hawkeye, she asked: "Can I ask you something, Lord Hawkeye?"

"You don't need to ask," Hawkeye replied. "I have heard it all from my master already. Listen, this is what my master said: jumans and dragons fight and fear one another, and this has not changed for a thousand years. Even though most humans have never seen a dragon, the fear still remains and has been carried down by time and you could say... education. However, humans can change. We may only live a short time, but we can learn and feel a lot during that time. Do not lose hope, child of destiny, for humans and dragons can understand one another. The day they do will come. I believed the master when he said so." Ninian let out a slight sigh of relief, feeling slightly more reassured. She was about to thank Hawkeye for his support when she suddenly heard a "Help!" coming from where Nils was. Turning around, all colour drained from her face when she saw Nils struggling with a rather tough female wyvern rider dressed in the uniform of Bern's royal army.

"Who are you?" Nils asked loudly as he fought for his life. "Why can't I sense you?" The wyvern rider's name was Vaida, a former commander in the Bern's army who refused to obey an order to slay innocents. After being sentenced to death, she escaped and joined the Black Fang, where her powers were quickly augmented by Nergal.

"Silvery-green hair, crimson eyes... no mistake," Vaida noted as she sized up the little boy. "You're one of Lord Nergal's lost toys, I've found you at last!" Looking around, she continued: "What happened to your little bodyguards? I heard they were tough and wanted to see them for myself. If you're here, they can't be too far away, can they?"

"Nils!" called Ninian in panic as she rushed to her brother. Vaida smiled evilly as she eyed the girl approaching closer, Hawkeye following closely.

"Excellent, they're both here!" she laughed. "It's off to Lord Nergal for the both of you, none of you are going to escape! Call your friends, go on, I want to rip them apart with my own two hands!"

"We're the ones you want, unhand the boy!" called a female voice suddenly called from behind them. Turning around, Ninian saw Lyn, Hector and with a huge sigh of relief, Eliwood sprinting toward them, weapons drawn.

"You've finally come!" Vaida snickered. "I've been looking forward to this chance to crush you, then hand the children over to Lord Nergal!"

Hector spat at the ground in contempt. "So, you're another one of that blackheart Nergal's dogs, heh?" he asked. Vaida's face contorted in fury.

"I will not be called a dog by weaklings like you, fool!" she retorted. "True, we have a contract with the Black Fang, but I am loyal to one master only, and that is he who sits on the throne of Bern!" Seeing the lordlings' confused expression, she continued her rant: "That's enough talking, let's get started, shall we? I've long hungered to test my strength against someone, so make this last awhile, won't you? I want to enjoy this and toast to your bones!" Turning around, she mounted her wyvern and kicked off into the air.

"Listen up, everyone!" she called while riding away to a distance. "It's playtime! The palace has promised to stay out of this, so come on out and be as wild as you can! Kill everyone apart from the two silver-haired children!" With this, Eliwood and the his friends all lost the colour in their faces, as they eyed around fifty bloodthirsty wyvern riders fly out from behind the mountains, circling and diving at them at blinding velocity. Along with the wyvern riders, about thirty ground troops marched out from the nearby trees.

"We need to gather everyone quickly," Eliwood told Hector and Lyn. "They can easily pick us off one by one. Tell everyone to take cover using the trees!" Turning around to Ninian, he saw her trembling uncontrollably. "Don't be afraid, Ninian," he assured her as he pulled her behind a tree to avoid the attacks of the wyvern riders.

Turning around, she stared at him with her crimson eyes. "I'm not afraid of death, Lord Eliwood," she replied. "I have never been."

Raising his eyebrow, Eliwood asked: "Then what's making you so afraid that you are trembling so excessively?"

Closing her eyes and sighing sadly, she replied: "Look at our enemy, there's no way we can defeat them like this. I am only afraid that this may be the last time we see each other again, Lord Eliwood."

As he heard this, Eliwood could only smile tenderly. He and Ninian were already very close, but he did not expect her feelings for him to be so strong, that when she was probably about to die, the only thing that she cared about was being with him.

"Ninian," he said lovingly. "You would never have to be afraid of that. Even if we die here, we will always see each other again. Whether it be in heaven above or hell below, I will wait for you, for eternity if need be."

Ninian stared up at his face in surprise. "This isn't just a dream, is it Lord Eliwood?" she asked. "If you would truly do this for me, I am truly complete, but... but..." She found herself unable to go on.

"But what, Ninian?" Eliwood asked. " Of course this isn't a dream. We're about to killed, how can we still be sleeping in the face of that?"

Ninian sighed sadly. "You are the truly the kindest person I have ever known," she said quietly. "You will definitely go to heaven, but me... everything that has occurred here is my fault... what if I go to hell?"

Eliwood shook his head in slight annoyance and pity. "Ninian, of course you wouldn't go to hell," he assured her. "What could you have done that would condemn you to the depths of hell? If you are sent there, then this entire world would probably follow you there. Alas, if God is truly blind and cruel enough to send you down to hell, I will just follow you down there. You will never face hardships by yourself ever again!"

Ninian almost fainted in ecstasy as she heard Eliwood spill him heart to her. "Do you speak truly?" she asked. "You aren't just saying things to make me happy?"

Eliwood smiled delicately in return. "Seeing you happy makes me happy, Ninian," he replied. Placing his right hand next to his face, he declared: "I, Eliwood of Pherae, will swear upon my father's honour that I would protect Ninian with my life while following her in life and death. If I fail in this, then let me lose all my respect in this world, die a thousand deaths and be pit into the deepest layer of hell. If I would have any offspring, all males will become slaves and females become prostitutes!" Satisfied with his oath, Ninian could only bury herself in his arms as they continued to face down the scores of wyvern riders, this time without fear nor regret, only feeling complete and happy.

"Watch out!" Hector called he pushed the pair away from an incoming wyvern rider who had just swooped in on them. "You two can get lovey-dovey later, we have a battle to win, here!" Eliwood was about to retort when he suddenly dropped his jaw as a long streak of fire travelled through the air and melted two wyvern riders at once. Turning around, they saw that the source of the attack came from Pent, who was sprinting toward them with Louise.

"We'll help out, too," he told Eliwood. "I've learnt a few spells from Lord Athos' Infernal Element, the Forblaze spell book, those wyvern riders will need to think twice before diving at me. I may only have learned a handful of spells from that all-powerful, all-encompassing tome, but as Count Reglay, the Mage General of Etruria, it should be enough to take these fools on." The two lordlings were thankful, but were surprised when they saw Louise take out a bow and quiver, ready for battle.

"You, too, Lady Louise?" Eliwood asked with concern, however Louise only smiled devilishly in return.

"There is no need for concern," Pent explained. "Louise is possibly one of the best archers I have ever met. Those wyvern riders will be sorry to meet her. Despite what you may think, she is not one of those helpless Etrurian ladies you find in court. She can be of some assistance to you and everyone else."

Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement. "I see, thanks to both of you," he expressed his gratitude.

Satisfied with everything, Pent pulled the Heaven Seal out of his pocket and offered it to Eliwood. "I'll present to you this," he told the young lord. "It's from Lord Athos." Seeing Eliwood's confusion at seeing the great jewel, he continued: "It's a Heaven Seal. It reveals hidden strengths within a character. It's supposed to only work on a select few, however. Here, give it a try."

Eliwood took the seal into his hands and held it close to his chest. "It has an air of mystery to it," he noted as he gripped it tightly. After waiting for about a minute, he could not get it to respond to him.

"I don't think that it works for me," he sighed finally. He held up the seal and tried to give it back to Pent, who declined.

"You keep it," Pent told him. "Wait for the proper time, or have the other two try it. It might now work now, but I'm sure you'll be able to use it at some point. Lord Athos thinks so, too. Just keep trying." Nodding gratefully, Eliwood thanked Pent and put the seal into his pocket. As he did so, Louise pulled four arrows from her quiver and loaded one onto her shiny silver bow. Eyes scanning around, she suddenly shot the arrow at an incoming wyvern rider, striking the wyvern in the eye, causing it and the rider to spiral toward the ground. As she did so, she loaded another arrow and fired it at another wyvern almost immediately, causing it to swerve away, only to be hit by Pent's fire magic. 'She's really good,' though Eliwood. 'I can now see why Lord Pent would have picked her, she's not like those other snobbish Etrurian ladies...' In the space of his thought, Louise had fired another two arrows at the incoming wyvern riders, forcing them to be more careful in their pursuits.

Pulling three more arrows from her quiver, Louise leapt out of the trees quickly as Pent protected her with a fiery shield conjured from his hands. Raising her head slightly, she saw Vaida floating in the air about a fifty metres from where they were, watching in amusement. Loading her arrows one after the other, Louise fired the three arrows at the wyvern-riding woman within two seconds. She let out a scream of delight when she saw one of her arrows hit Vaida's wyvern with a direct hit. However, that scream of delight quickly turned into a gasp of surprise when the arrow did nothing to the wyvern at all. With a sneer, Vaida grabbed a spear from the trunk strapped to her back and threw it at an inconceivable speed back at Louise.

"Watch out!" called Pent as he pushed his wife out of the way just in time as the spear dug about half a metre hole into the ground. Gasping in amazement, Pent quickly turned around and waved his hands as he unleashed his most powerful spell on the woman. With a loud eagle-like cry, a spiral stream of fire erupted from his fingertips and curled its way toward Vaida and struck her head-on. Surprisingly, it did not do much damage to her at all.

"How the hell did she take that with no damage whatsoever?" Pent marvelled hopelessly as he pulled Louise back into the trees. Luckily for them, after being hit by Pent's fire magic, Vaida was slightly hurt and did not want to continue playing with them.

"I've had enough of getting pushed around here and there!" she called. Picking up her spear, she directed her troops: "Everyone, pull back, ground forces, withdraw quickly!" The Black Fang assassins under her command did as she ordered, but were rather confused at why she issued them when they had their targets so overwhelmingly outnumbered and outpositioned. Some of them hesitated to flee, and were subsequently killed by Eliwood's troops.

However, there was no-one more surprised to see Vaida retreat than Eliwood himself. Having already prepared to die, he was gobsmacked to see the men who were about to take his lives flee before his very eyes.

"Lord Eliwood!" called Ninian as she threw herself into his arms, every bit as relieved as he was. "What do we do? Nergal's power is returning bit by bit..."

"What do you mean? Can you sense him?" Eliwood asked curiously. Ninian shook her head. Nils offered to explain.

"That woman you faced," he told Eliwood. "She was protected by Nergal's magic. It won't be long until he is active again, with all of his power restored. We must hurry and gain the power to oppose him!"

Alarmed by this news, Eliwood could only think of one thing that they could do. "We have to hurry and find the Fire Emblem," he concluded. "It is the only way that we can get Queen Hellene to tell us where the Shrine of Seals is."

Hector nodded his agreement. "Yeah, come on!" he said impatiently. "The palace is in an uproar right now, this is our chance to get away!" Eliwood was about to say the same thing when Lyn suddenly had an idea.

"We should follow them," she suggested, eliciting looks of confusion from the others. "The woman said she was part of the Black Fang, right? If we follow her discreetly, she may just lead us to their fortress. We can then comb the place for the Fire Emblem, and if we meet up with their leader, we can also explain everything to him and see if we can avoid any more conflict."

"Are you sure?" Hector asked hesitantly. Lyn shot him a dirty look.

"I'm a Sacaen," she explained. "If they keep the pace that they are moving at, I should definitely be able to track them. Bern's foot solders are slow and clumsy, and to a Sacaen, men are easier to track than rabbits."

Eliwood nodded his approval. "I think we should put our trust in Lyndis," he agreed. "If anyone can do this, she can. This is probably the best lead we've got, we may as well follow through with it." Satisfied that Eliwood agrees with her, Lyn stuck her tongue at Hector teasingly and immediately got to work at tracking down the Black Fang ground troops.

"Lyndis, wait a moment!" Eliwood called out. Taking the Heaven Seal from his pocket, he handed it to her. "Lord Pent gave this to me from Lord Athos," he explained. "It's supposed to bring out hidden abilities, but it doesn't work for me. I want to see if it works for you."

Looking rather confused, Lyn took the Heaven Seal and looked at it. "What am I supposed to do with-" She didn't get to finish her sentence when the Heaven Seal suddenly glowed brightly and whirled in her hand. "Whoa!" she cried as it got brighter and brighter until it melted in her hand, then dissolving as her hands absorbed the seal.

"This is incredible!" she whooped as the absorption was complete. "I'm overflowing with power!" Picking up her sword, she slashed at a tree that was about three metres away from her. A gust of wind erupted from her arm and sword, splitting the tree into two. Turning around happily, she chased after the Black Fang members, leaving an impressed Eliwood and Hector in her wake.

As the group left, Ninian could only sigh guiltily. "I'm sorry, Nils," she apologised to her brother. "I just can't..."

Nils shrugged helplessly. "Don't be, Ninian," he lamented. "I cannot blame you for something that you can't help. I'm also to blame for not warning you earlier. We can only hope that our feelings guide us on the right path. Once feelings of love have taken hold of you, it appears that there is nothing you can do to let them go. Lord Eliwood is a good man, if our circumstances were only slightly different, this would be absolutely perfect. Don't be harsh on yourself, Ninian, it's not your fault."

Feeling slightly better at hearing the words come out of her brother's mouth, Ninian nodded silently, yet eyes clearly filled with regret.


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12: The Freezing Base and the Flaming Emblem_

Eliwood and his friends followed Lyn due south as they tracked the Black Fang assassins toward their stronghold. They started climbing even higher into the mountains of Bern and trekked into a world of ice and snow.

"It's soooo cooolld..." Hector shivered as they gave chase. Turning around, he saw Nils and Ninian following an equally frozen Eliwood, seemingly impervious to the cold. "Hey, Nils, Ninian," he called. "How the hell are you two not cold? You aren't wearing much compared to us at all, how the hell can you take this?"

Ninian smiled for her answer. "We come from Ilia, so we're used to the cold," she explained. "I was talking to Florina just before. I'm not very good with the geography, but she said the mountain we used to live on was also inhabited by an ice dragon. I don't know if this is true, however..."

"Really?" Eliwood wondered. He suddenly realised there was actually so many things about Ninian that he did not know. 'I really need to get to know her better,' he noted himself. 'I've already vowed to follow her in life and death, yet I don't even know where she grew up, what she likes or anything like that.'

After walking for about half a day, the group stopped to take a rest when they spotted the enemy stopping. Deciding not to attract too much attention, they decided to split up and rest in small groups, and once they saw the enemy moving, they would reassemble and continue the journey.

Ninian sat by herself, reflecting on how the past few days have unfolded. Although delighted that Eliwood had returned her feelings, she was now buried in a deep fear. Before, apart from Nils, who was ready share the same fate as she did, she had virtually nothing to lose. She and Nils could easily commit suicide if Nergal became too unstoppable.

'Although Lord Eliwood was probably not entirely serious when he returned my feelings, he would still be saddened if I just took my own life now,' she thought. 'Ah, Ninian, what have you gotten yourself into? Nils warned you about this! He knew if you got yourself in love, you'll never get yourself out!' She couldn't help but let out a long sigh at her predicament.

"What's wrong?" asked a Eliwood as he approached from behind her. "I know you're probably used to the cold, but are you feeling a bit chilly? Why the long face, Ninian?"

Turning away bashfully, Ninian tried to hide her uneasiness. 'I must get out of this bond as quickly as possible', she thought. 'However, I cannot hurt his feelings, but not to do tell him would just bring harm to him in the future'. "Please do not worry on my account, Lord Eliwood," she said quietly and mournfully. "I have been deceiving you, so I am not even worthy of standing your sight like this."

Eliwood sighed sadly. "Ninian, I tear my heart out every time you put yourself down like this," he told her. "You have said that before. Have you been keeping some kind of secret from the rest of us?" Closing his eyes, Ninian nodded hesitantly.

"But you can't tell me what it is, is that correct?" Eliwood asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I..." Ninian stuttered slowly. "I want to tell you... that... I... I am really..." Eliwood looked at her and braced for the worst. "I am really... I am really..." However, the events of the past few days caught up with her. The memories of those strong yet gentle arms embracing her came back into her mind. The deep but soothing voice reminded her what was at stake. She remembered the pain of worrying for him when he snuck into the royal palace, and simply could not bring herself to spill out her secrets. Letting out a long sigh, she shook her head in defeat.

Eliwood nodded empathetically. "If it's too hard for you to talk about, I will not force you," he assured her. "When you feel able, tell me then."

"But... but..." Ninian stammered. "I have lied to you and the others! I have shown you a false image of myself!"

"Ninian, I don't care what your secret is, it will still be the same," Eliwood argued stubbornly. "I love you and that will never change. I have already promised you that I will follow you, in this world or the next. Do you really think that was an empty promise? If something troubles you, just let me sweep it away. I would do anything to see you smile again. You're the first person I have ever felt this way about, Ninian."

Lost for words, Ninian could only stare at the ground, half grateful for his affection, half guilty at her weakness and inability to divulge the truth. "I hope you won't come to regret your decision, Lord Eliwood, and that everything would work out in the end," was the only thing she could say. After about ten minutes of rest, the group set off again as they spotted the enemy continuing their march.

"Look!" Lyn suddenly called. Turning to face the direction she was pointing, Eliwood and the others dropped their jaws in awe as they saw a huge, ancient-looking temple. While not nearly as huge or majestic as the Dragon's Gate, it was still an impressive structure, especially one wrought by humans. While it was clearly there, the snow being blown around by the cold mountain breeze made the building look like a mirage. As the snowflakes danced around the air, it would make the temple flicker slightly, like a candle being blown around by the breeze.

"I seriously doubt that the Black Fang built that by themselves," Legault piped up as he eyed the structure. "You know, I've never been allowed here, but that didn't stop me, did it?" Eliwood and the others agreed and trekked toward the building quickly in anticipation, however slowly enough so that they were not detected by the sentries.

Inside the complex, two women were arguing furiously. One was dressed in the uniform of Bern's army, while the other dressed in a long, revealing black dress.

"So, in the end, you still failed to defeat them?" Sonia snorted contemptuously. "Normally, I would pass the Fang's judgement on the troops you led, but what you did was absolutely ridiculous! From what I was reported, you had them surrounded with at least twice their numbers, did you not?"

Vaida went red in the face. "That is correct, Lady Sonia..." she mumbled guiltily.

"You also had the advantage with the terrain," Sonia continued. "Your troops had the high ground, as well as having most of them pick off the enemy by air. The Black Fang members that went with you informed me incredulously that you retreated in such circumstances. They told me that you surrendered when you had victory in your hands. Are they telling the truth?"

Vaida squirmed where she stood and nodded stiffly. Sonia spat on the floor. "I see," she went on. "You realise that I only introduced you Lord Nergal out of respect for your rank? I've never made such a huge mistake, though, to think that a former royal soldier would be such a coward. It looks like Bern's reputation as the 'most powerful military nation' is nothing but all talk and no action. Get out of here, I don't want to see you again."

Vaida dropped to her knees. "It will be different next time, I swear it," she pleaded. "Please, just give me one more chance!"

Sonia tilted her head back and laughed loudly. "One more chance?" she sneered. "Please tell me you're jesting! One more chance to do what? Destroy our reputation even more, or get more of our members killed for free? While we are numerous, we can't afford to have you leading them to death for nothing, you know. Stop dreaming!"

"Without Lord Nergal's good word, I'll never fly again, not as a royal wyvern knight, at least!" Vaida wailed. "Please, just one more chance!"

Sonia rolled her eyes in contempt. "Hmph, you're good at begging, at least," she snorted. "Shut up. You've fallen out of our favour, and nothing will change that. Just be grateful that you're an outsider, which means you have spared the Fang's judgement. Get out before I execute you for trespass. You stink of failure, let me breathe in peace."

Sighing in frustration and defeat, Vaida trudged out of the headquarters of the Black Fang. Sonia shook her head and snorted in disdain. Turning to the blue-clad valkyrie in Ursula, she said: "There are two types of people in this world, Ursula, those chosen to lead and those fit only to serve. Those who serve are human refuse. That is all, only two types. I am the former, a perfect specimen chosen by Lord Nergal. You want to be like me, don't you, Ursula?"

Ursula nodded in agreement. She had always idolised Brendan's wife, not just because of her beauty and position, but also because of how efficiently she managed things. If anything was a 'perfect specimen', it had to be her. "Of course, Lady Sonia," she replied with reverence.

Smiling with satisfaction, Sonia continued: "Then you must use the refuse to your advantage. If you treat them like equals, they will only drag you down and make you one of their own. That hag Vaida is a prime example. She treats the trash as though they are people, and that is why she is doomed to failure. She is truly a fool."

Ursula did not say anything, but could not help her heart beating faster in delight. She had hated Vaida the moment she walked into the Black Fang's fortress. Furious that Nergal and Sonia had favoured her by giving her extraordinary powers and afraid that the newcomer may potentially usurp her position as one of the Four Fangs, she secretly helped Eliwood's team during the battle by giving them wyvern-slaying weapons and the Hammerne, a weapon fixing staff through secret intermediates. She could not be happier that Vaida failed and had fallen out of Sonia and the rest of the Black Fang's favour.

"You, on the other hand, I like," Sonia continued. "You must take care, it would be a real shame to see you fail the way Vaida did."

Ursula bowed gratefully. "I understand, thank you," she thanked. "I will take care, most gracious Lady Sonia."

Outside the Black Fang fortress, Eliwood and his friends hid in the bushes and watched Vaida stomp out of the complex with a look of anger and despair.

"That wyvern rider..." Eliwood noted. "She was the same woman we fought earlier, so this proves that they took this mountain path. You did a great job, Lyndis."

Hector surveyed his surroundings. "Now, what we have here, is one complicated place," he marvelled. "Nothing less from an assassin group, mazes and probably traps everywhere..."

Eliwood nodded his agreement. "I hear some voices coming from inside," he noted. "Let's go inside and look around." Turning around, he summoned Marcus.

"Marcus, wait here with Ninian and everyone else," he ordered. "Be ready to escape at any time, I'll be counting on you!" Marcus bowed in acknowledgement as Eliwood and the other lords snuck in, once again into an enemy base. As they tip-toed into the complex, the voices that they were hearing from outside became clearly audible and differentiable. Peaking through cracks in a wall, they saw an enthusiastic young girl with messy, green hair, standing next to a woman in a long black dress, accompanied by a much larger man whose face was covered by scars.

"Are you really giving me a mission, mum?" Nino asked in disbelief and excitement. Sonia had never, ever given her missions! "You are truly trusting this to me?"

Sonia smiled mirthlessly. "I am," she replied. "It's a rather big job at that. You see, we made contact with the King of Bern in the past few weeks. This job is for him, and I'm going to give it to you."

Nino could not hide her excitement any longer. "Yay!" she cried happily. "The king, though? Such an important job for me?"

Brendan Reed, who was standing next to Sonia, cleared his throat with disdain. "Sonia, I'm against this!" he argued. "How can you give such a dangerous job to a child, especially your own daughter?"

Sonia sighed impatiently. "You're right, _darling_," she admitted maliciously. "This really is a job for your sons. However, we haven't seen or heard anything from them since their last report, so my daughter will do this, and I will have no complaints from you about it."

Rather taken aback by how Sonia had talked to him, Brendan scowled and walked out of the room without saying another word, more urgent things were clearly on his mind. Nino looked at the ground with worry. What had happened to her step-brothers? Had they actually lost to the villains that they were fighting in Deggendorf?

"Nino, it's time for business," Sonia ordered coldly. "Jaffar, come here!" Eliwood, Hector and Lyn all felt shivers run down their spine as they saw the red-haired Angel of Death walk out from a room, holding onto a cloth that was bound to his chest. He appeared to be lacking in energy as he walked, slowly but swaying a little as he made his way to greet Sonia. He did not say a word and bowed courteously to Sonia as he arrived.

"Jaffar, should you be up?" Nino asked him with concern. "Don't your wounds hurt? You should rest." Jaffar turned around and snorted in contempt, partly due to his disdain at her soft-heartedness, but also due to his own weakness to end up in such a state in the first place. Sonia shook her head with annoyance.

"Must you be so discourteous, Jaffar?" she jibed. "It is really quite irritating. You heard the king's request, right?"

Jaffar nodded in acknowledgement. "He wants Prince Zephiel assassinated," he repeated what he knew. Nino stared at him in shock.

"Why would the king want to kill the prince?" she demanded loudly. "Isn't the prince his son? Why would he want this?" She was answered with a smack to the head as Sonia brushed her hand over her scalp, hard.

"Shut up, Nino," she growled angrily. Turning back to Jaffar, she ordered him: "This mission is yours, Jaffar, and you're to take Nino with you."

Jaffar turned around and stared at Sonia with disbelief. "What?" he blurted out. "You can't be serious?"

Sonia's eye were reduced to slits. "Of course I'm serious, Jaffar," she scowled. "This girl is my daughter. She needs to prove herself as soon as possible. What use is there for a person who can't do anything?"

'Daughter or not, she's still a child,' Jaffar found himself thinking, surprising even himself. "She's too young, don't do this, it's too much for her," he argued.

Sonia was almost as surprised hearing Jaffar argue for Nino as much as he himself was. Since when did Jaffar care about anything other than his tasks? Wasn't he supposed to Nergal's killing machine and nothing else?

"As long as you're with her, there should be no problem," she retorted with finality. "I'm not going to tolerate any disagreement, especially from you, Jaffar. We must have the king in our debt, those are Lord Nergal's explicit orders." Jaffar looked at the floor, unsure of what to say. 'Why am I even defending Nino anyway?' he thought to himself. 'Isn't she just some girl who disobeyed the law of the Fang to save my life? Shouldn't she be punished anyway?'

Taking Jaffar's silence as approval, Sonia turned to her daughter. "Nino, you understand the consequences should you fail, don't you?" she reminded her maliciously. Nino shivered slightly, but recovered in time to nod enthusiastically.

"Good," Sonia noted with satisfaction. "We're off to investigate the royal manse, I'll provide you two with more information on our way there." Whipping her dress, she directed the two would-be assassins out of the room.

"Jerme, Kenneth!" Sonia called as they made their way outside. Within ten seconds, a rather creepy looking assassin and an arrogant-looking bishop appeared at Sonia's side. The assassin was Jerme, who was otherwise known as the Death Kite. Kenneth was the bishop, whose nickname was the Shrike. "Yes, Lady Sonia?" Kenneth replied courteously.

"Where is Brendan?" she asked. "He just left the room, where did he go?"

"He left the complex with Jan," . Unbeknownst to Sonia, Brendan had started up an investigation on the woman. 'She will pay for talking to me like that,' he had thought immediately after she dismissed him just before. 'Who does she think she is? I'm the head of the Black Fang, I decide what happens around here!' Stepping outside, he called his trusted aide, Jan to lead a dozen Black Fang members to investigate everything they could about Sonia's past and uncover anything that could incriminate her so he could condemn her publically in front of the Black Fang.

"I wonder what he's doing..." Sonia muttered irritably. Turning to face the two members of the Black Fang she had just summoned, she told them: "I'll deal with him later. Listen, Jerme, Kenneth, you're in charge of the guard while I'm gone. Do not let anything happen to the item. My daughter, Jaffar and I will be off to investigate the royal manse."

Kenneth nodded in acknowledgement while Jerme stared at Jaffar with pure loathing. "Guard duty..." he spat. "I was top dog until that little shit Jaffar showed up." Seeing Sonia shoot him a warning look, he put his hands into the air and sighed: "Well, I guess if you let me cut up people, I can't complain. Let's go, Kenneth."

Just beyond the walls, Eliwood and the others listened in surprise and horror. "Do they seriously mean to assassinate the prince?" Eliwood whispered to the other two.

Hector shrugged. "Appears like it," he mouthed thoughtfully. "Unbelievable, on the orders of the king, too... Desmond must hate his son so much."

Getting up and motioning Hector and Lyn to do the same, he told them: "We must stop the assassination! The Emblem might essential to the ceremony, but it would be completely useless if he's dead!" Looking around, he continued: "If we speak to that girl, Nino, she might understand. She's seems to have a heart, unlike those monsters Jaffar and Sonia."

Lyn nodded in agreement. "Jaffar looks like a dangerous man, but it looks like this is our only course of action at the moment," she concurred. Getting up and walking out of their hiding spot, they froze when a long, high-pitched cackle cracked through the air.

"Hyaa hyaa hyaa!" Jerme laughed as he drew his blade, with Kenneth next to him. "My blade will feast tonight! Now, which one is first? I mustn't get the nasty ones in here, it might ruin my sword's appetite. You don't mind if I pick the ones I kill first right?"

Drawing their weapons, Eliwood, Lyn and Hector went into battle formation. Meanwhile, Ninian, Nils and the others heard Jerme high cackle and became worried for the three lordlings. "We must defeat them if we are to get out, Lord Eliwood!" Nils called. "Something is blocking our way!"

'Why am I not surprised?" Eliwood thought to himself. Knowing that Jerme is a murderous maniac, he turned to Kenneth. "You, you're a holy man," he reasoned with the bishop. "What are you doing in this place?"

Kenneth yanked his head back and laughed heartily. "Are you referring to my relationship with 'God'?" he sneered. "Are you still held in thrall of such a concept? You've met Lord Nergal, haven't you? If you have, then there is something you fools need to know. God is a lie created by the weakness in all of mankind. If a God truly exists, then it is my Lord Nergal, only him."

Eliwood shook his head in disbelief. "Insane..." was all he could say as he listened to Kenneth's rant. Suddenly, Jerme leapt at Lyn with his sword pointing straight at her, causing her to flinch and jump out of the way.

"You, woman!" he called. "You have some beautiful skin there, if I sliced you into lovely red pieces with my blade, would those pieces be as soft and delicate as silk?" Lyn's jaw dropped like a stone. "WHAT?" she stammered as she raised the Mani Katti and counter-attacked.

"I feel an evil power emnating from every enemy here," Ninian noted as she made her next to Eliwood. "We would need to defeat all of them if we are to get out of here."

Jerme cackled even harder. "That's Lord Nergal's doing!" he laughed. "He knows how much I like to chop and slice people. He lets me do it as often as I want, which is all the time, really. He's after something called 'quintessence', but I don't care about that. As long as he keeps bringing me people to slash and cut, I will be happy! Come!" He moved back as scores of Black Fang assassins surrounded Eliwood and his friends, while Kenneth disappeared.

"We'll have to defeat them otherwise we'll never get past that barrier!" Nils told them. Eliwood raised his weapon and ordered everyone into two groups.

"Alright, we need to get out of here quickly," he told his troops. "We'll split up. Hector, you and Oswin will take half of the group on the path to the left. Lyndis, Marcus and I will take the path to the right and we'll go after that Jerme guy." Nodding in acknowledgement, Hector led his group through the left side of the fortress. As they marched through the base, snow fell heavily, making it extremely difficult for them to progress.

With the power boost from the Heaven Seal, Lyn became a raging storm of destruction upon any Black Fang member that stood in her way. Itching to try out her new upgrade, she moved like a blur. As she brought the Mani Katti down again and again, pulses of pure energy danced out from the sword and split bodies cleanly in two. Before using the Heaven Seal, Lyn would expend a lot of energy using her best attacks. However, the Heaven Seal had at least tripled her efficiency, allowing her to go on the offensive with more power and durability. Eliwood and the other members of their group watched in awe as scores of Black Fang assassins fell to her blade.

As the battle raged, a rather handsome man of around age twenty five with short blonde hair patrolled the Black Fang headquarters.

"Hey, you!" called a nearby assassin. "There are intruders in the complex! Aren't you going to come and help us?" The man replied by jumping straight at the assassin while brandishing his sword, decapitating him within seconds. Seeing that he had been spotted, he immediately leapt at another pair of assassins. With two clean strokes he quickly slashed open one man's chest, quickly followed by a stab in the neck on the other assassin.

"Intruders?" he sneered at the three corpses with marked hate in his voice as blood slowly dripped from the tip of his sword. "Why don't you just let them go? Do you know why I'm here? I don't give a crap about what you're doing, all I'm here is to avenge my fallen liege, Lord Elbert! Unfortunately for you, that means anyone of you willing to spare me a breath will die... painfully." Probing around, he indeed heard the cries of battle.

"Excellent..." he thought aloud. "Plenty of Black Fang scum to trade my lowly life for... Lord Elbert, may your spirit live peacefully in heaven, for hell is where I'm going!" Picking up with his sword, he leapt out into the open and immediately began to slash at anyone that moved. Many Black Fang members were completely caught off guard and slaughtered one after the other. Blood was smeared everywhere. After five minutes of maniacal massacring, however, the man had found himself in front of a certain red-haired young lord.

"You..." Eliwood said breathlessly. "Can it really be? Is that you, Harken?"

The man was indeed Harken, one of the initial Pheraen Knights that disappeared with Lord Elbert on the Dread Isle. Furious at his own weakness of being unable to protect his sworn lord, he disguised himself and joined the Black Fang, collecting information while looking for the opportunity to avenge his lord. Before he left with Elbert, he was engaged to Isadora and planned to marry her when he returned. As he stared into Eliwood bright blue eyes, he suddenly felt his soul being crushed and thrown aside. He turned straight around and bolted in the other direction. 'I have no face to see him,' he thought. 'Lord Elbert was my responsibility, how can I look Lord Eliwood straight in the eye like that?'

"Please wait!" Eliwood called after him. "Aren't you Harken, a knight of Pherae?" Harken stopped immediately and turned around. "Lord Eliwood," he sighed courteously while staring straight at the ground.

"Why so shy with me, Harken?" Eliwood asked with pity. "I heard that all of my father's men had fallen defending him. It's good to see you safe and well. Why didn't you return to Pherae? My mother and I would have welcomed you back with open arms."

Harken sighed hopelessly. "I failed in my duty to protect my sworn lord," he murmured. "I am not worthy of the honour of being a knight of Pherae." Tightening his grip on his sword while shaking furiously, he let out a loud scream of frustration. "Before Nergal's magic, we were annihilated! When Lord Elbert was taken away, I was powerless... I heard that he shared some connection with the Black Fang. I searched the continent for signs of them, and intended to strike against them with my final breath."

"I see," Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement. "So that is what brought you here. In that case, Harken, you should come with us. Isadora would delighted to see you return."

Harken shook his head sadly. "Forgive me, Lord Eliwood," he said quietly. "I would rather die a knight than live as a lowly man in shame. I will trade my life for many of theirs to avenge your father."

"What, hold on!" Eliwood ordered. "Do you think that is what my father would have wanted? If you want to truly want to serve him to the end, join me instead. Neither my father nor I would condone such a senseless death. Help me fulfill my father's wish and restore peace to this world."

Harken closed his eyes and thought deeply. 'He's right, what a waste would it be if I did just throw my life away. It would be an even bigger failure if I cannot protect Lord Elbert's flesh and blood.' "I understand," he acknowledged. "My life is yours, Lord Eliwood, may it serve you better than it did for your father."

After about half an hour of running around the complex, Eliwood and Lyn reached where Jerme was waiting. "Hyaa hyaa hyaa!" he cackled as he waved his sword around at Eliwood and his friends. "I'll chop you all into tiny little pieces!" He attacked straight after that, leaping at Lyn first. Unfortunately, with her upgrade, she easily dodged the blow and executed her own attack at the mad assassin. So fast that Jerme could hardly see the attack, Lyn quickly threw five slashes at the assassin, who was only able to block based on his instincts. After about twenty exchanges, it was clear that Jerme was no match for the Sacaen and was killed after a stab to the chest by the Mani Katti.

Meanwhile, Hector and Oswin were taking the opposite side of the fortress. Charging forward with his axe, Hector cut down scores and scores of Black Fang members as Oswin defended him from enemies. As he looked around the place, he saw Farina fighting with a few mages. She swept her spear around and knocked two of them aside, while stabbing the third in stomach. Stepping in, Hector brought his axe down on the two that were still on the ground, taking them out instantly.

"Wait up, Farina!" Hector called. Looking around and seeing no immediate threat, he continued: "I was checking up about that purse of yours. You see, I asked around for the price of Ilian mercernaries with my merchant. Usually, they get paid by the battle, with no bonuses, or whatever. He said twenty thousand gold piece is just ridiculous. Wages are supposed to be based on knightly order and ability, right? Judging by your ability, I would say you're worth two thousand gold, tops."

Farina flushed immediately as steam popped out of her ears. It seemed all the heat from her face was pushed out at once. "Never!" she argued. "I'm at four thousand gold, I am!" However, colour immediately returned to her face as she realised her slip of the tongue, completely unmissed by Hector.

"What's that?" he snickered suspiciously. "What's this rubbish about twenty thousand gold then? You trying to rip me off?"

"Of course not!" Farina defended quickly. "I would never do that! It's just... it's just I've been underpaid for my ability until now, that's right! I've been underpaid!"

"I dare you to look me in the eye and say that again," Hector after shaking his head, in both understanding and amusement. Seeing the pegasus knight jitter and blush where she stood in embarassment, he could not help but let out a humourous laugh.

"Farina, I'm not going to ask you for that cash back," he assured her. "However, you're probably feeling quite guilty yourself for lying to me like that. I'll tell you what, since I'm paying you anyway, I'm going to make sure that I take full advantage of your services." Farina suddenly turned around, eyes wide open in terror.

"Surely... surely you don't mean?" she stuttered, as Hector burst into laughter.

"Hey, who do you think I am?" he said with amusement and twinge of hurt. "Don't make me part of your wacky fantasies! Tell you what, since you have said it yourself that you are worth four thousand gold, I'm going to let you off the additional sixteen thousand by making you do two tasks for me, two tasks of my choosing." Seeing the look of trepidation in her face, he continued: "I assure you, these two tasks will not force you to betray your values, code of conduct, your relationships or even your heart, neither will I ask you to do anything that is out of your physical or mental capabilities."

Farina raised her eyebrow suspiciously. 'This noble really is interesting,' she thought. "I aren't lying to me right?" she asked. "Quickly, tell me what you want me to do, I want this over and done with."

"Hmph, do you really think I'd let you go that easily?" Hector snickered. "I'm going to enjoy my little hold on you for some time yet, hehehe..." Farina's cheeks puffed in fury.

"How dare you!" she shrieked. "How dare you take advantage of my situation like this! Give me the tasks that I'm supposed do, and let that be the end of it!"

Hector pointed his head toward the sky and let out a long laugh. "Hey, why do you keep misunderstanding me?" he asked, looking amused and hurt at the same time. "You're the one who got yourself into this anyway. I haven't thought of the tasks yet, when it comes to my mind, I'll tell you, okay? Geez, you're such a little angry bird! Calm down, will you?"

"Look out!" Oswin called from about ten metres in front of them. A rather rough-looking axe fighter and appeared out of nowhere, axed hurtling straight down toward Hector's head. 'Shiiiiii-' Hector thought as he prepared to block the incoming attack. Suddenly, a flash of light streamed across the distance between the axe and Hector, knocking it out of the way, while a second flash dazzled across the neck of the enemy, decapitating him instantly. Turning around, Hector saw a enigmatic man of around age thirty with long, black hair, holding onto a slightly curved katana, blood dripping slowly from its tip.

"Whoa, who are you?" Hector asked in surprise. The man remained silent for a second, wind blowing against him, making his hair ruffle around like the leaves of a great oak tree.

"I'm Karel," he replied coldly. "I heard that the Black Fang were looking for new recruits. I am here to challenge them."

Hector almost fell over in incredulity. "Alone?" he gasped. "Are you mad?" Here they were, fending off the assassin group together, and this swordsman wanted to take them on all by himself? Suicidal was probably the best word to describe such a course of action.

"I lust for anyone who would be worthy of my blade," Karel explained as he sized Hector up. "You... I see that you would one day become a fearsome general, one whose name would be feared by armies all around the continent. However, now your power is still pure and unbridled, not yet refined... I must have you stronger. Only then will you be a challenge to me. Only then will killing you satisfy my bloodlust. That is why I'll join you now." Turning around, he leapt at the incoming Black Fang assassins, slicing them down like butter.

"That Karel is amazing..." Oswin noted next to him. "Nothing less from the Sword Demon..." Hector looked at him in surprise.

"This Karel guy is the infamous Sword Demon?" he gasped. The Sword Demon was a mysterious warrior that travelled the continent and killed many strong fighters only for the purpose of a challenge. Karel was indeed the Sword Demon. "Now I've seen his power with my own eyes..." Hector breathed aloud.

With Karel's help, Hector's group easily made it to where Kenneth was waiting within ten minutes. Seeing them arrive, Kenneth blasted holy light magic from his hands. Seeing that Kenneth was a decent opponent, Karel's face lit up as he leapt into the battle. Although Kenneth was extremely powerful, he was quite slow and clumsy. Shielding himself with his magic, he tried venting blast after blast, hoping that one of them would hit Karel. Unfortunately, Karel's speed allowed him to dodge every one of them. After about five minutes, Kenneth's magical shield dropped due to his loss of energy, opening him up to a slash from Karel's Wo Dao sword, decapitating him instantly.

"Hector!" called Eliwood and Lyn as their group approached after their victory over Jerme. "Is it all finished?"

Hector pointed at Kenneth's headless corpse and shrugged. "I guess so," he said quietly. Eliwood shook his head and sighed deeply.

"Everyone is being driven mad by Nergal," he noted. "It must be terrifying to lose yourself entirely, to completely fall under the sway of Nergal's power." As he said this, he stared at the throne where Kenneth was sitting.

"Wait a minute, what's this?" he wondered as he picked up a blood red stone the size of his fist. "Can this be the Fire Emblem?" Turning around and examining it, it carried all the hallmarks of the royal gem.

"This knave had it all along?" Hector spat. "Let's go back and return it, then!"

Lyn nodded in agreement. "We don't have time to waste," she concurred. "We need to hurry and return to the manse and stop the assassination, if the prince is killed, all of this would be for naught!"

As the made their way out of the base, Hector signalled for Oswin to come to his side. "Oswin, have you heard anything about my brother?" he asked.

Oswin felt his stomach drop slightly. "Care to define 'anything', my lord?" he replied. Hector frowned impatiently.

"You know... about his condition?" he pressed on while waving his hands.

"No, nothing new," Oswin answered. "Why do you ask?"

Hector shrugged. "Nothing, really, I'm simply concerned for him," he explained. "When I saw him in Ostia, he didn't look too well. When my dad fell ill and died, he looked a little bit like how my brother looked when we left. Aye, forget it, I'm worrying about nothing, if something was wrong, I'm sure we would have heard."

Oswin relaxed as he heard this. "Indeed," he breathed a sigh of relief. "Now that you mention it, I did forget something. Lord Uther sent you a message via a messenger. It says 'Don't trouble Lord Eliwood by being overly obstinate'."

Hector rolled his eyes and laughed. "Hmph, just like my brother!" he chuckled. "How many times do I need to tell that guy not to treat me like a child?"

On the eve of Prince Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony, three assassins gathered outside the royal manse.

"You two know your role, right?" Sonia asked coldly at her two subjects, the first being her daughter, Nino, and the other was the Angel of Death, Jaffar. "The plan must be carried out tonight. If you fail, do not expect anything other than the Fang's judgement."

Seeing her mother dismiss them as coldly as she did, Nino could not help but shiver. "Mum," she whispered quietly. "Just once, just this once... only for a little while, can I hold you hand?"

Sonia snorted in contempt. "Nino, you know I hate such displays," she growled menacingly. Nino could only shake in fear and reluctance.

"I'm sorry..." she sighed sadly. "I know you do... but I may not get another chance, so I thought..."

Sonia rolled her eyes. "Very well," she groaned distastefully. "If you complete this mission, I will hold your hand for often as you like. I will even hug you, kiss you, and even stroke your face, are you happy?"

Hearing her mother's promise, Nino's face lit up like a fire in relief and genuine surprise. "Oh, really?" she piped up. "Then I'll do my best, then! I will succeed, just you wait, mum!" Getting up, she raced toward the manse excitedly.

"Jaffar, wait here for a moment," Sonia ordered as she saw her daughter gallop away. "About tonight's mission, once you've killed the prince, I want you to kill Nino, too."

Jaffar looked like just got hit over the head by a rolling pin. "What?" he gasped, eyes wide open in shock.

"Both of the assassinations come directly by the king's request," Sonia explained, although Jaffar didn't care about them a single bit. "The prince is well loved by his people, and his death will trigger huge chaos. If the assassin is not caught and hanged immediately, then chaos would engulf the entirety of Bern. This is why a scapegoat is needed, have I made myself clear?"

Shaken to his core, Jaffar, for the first time in his life, shook his head in defiance. "Nino is your daughter, how can you do this?" he argued.

"She is trash, nothing but garbage and human refuse!" Sonia retorted. "I'm just happy that I have finally found a use for that stupid little bitch. She did say that she would do anything to please her loving mother, yes? Her death would please me more than her living ever could. Do you have anything to say?"

Unsure of how to respond to Sonia's hateful tirade, Jaffar decided that keeping his head was probably the better way to go. "This has nothing to do with me..." he conceded silently.

"Good," Sonia remarked coldly. "When Lord Nergal found you as an orphan, he chose you because your callous heart and your skill with a blade. He does not give second chances, do not forget where your loyalties lie."


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13: Battle for Whose Sake_

Dong! The large clock of the Bern's capital struck midnight. A new day had arrived, the day of glory for the people of Bern, for Prince Zephiel, arguably the greatest offspring of the royal family they have ever seen, was to come of age and be recognised as the legitimate heir to the throne. Or so they thought.

Nino and Jaffar snuck quietly into the royal manse, which was surprisingly unguarded for such an important place. Queen Hellene had already gone to sleep, and the few castle guards that roamed the corridors were quickly taken out by the assassin duo. They made their way toward the prince's room with virtually no effort whatsoever.

"Is that the door to the prince's room?" Nino breathed as they closed in on Zephiel's room. "General Murdock, the prince's bodyguard, should be away... the king concocted some errand to call him from Prince Zephiel's side. There are no guards around, this should be... an easy task, right? I... I can do this! This is my first mission, you know? I know I'm a little nervous, but I must not fail! I can't let my mum down..." Turning to Jaffar slowly, she asked with a shaking voice: "Are you ready, Jaffar?"

As she turned around to face him, she let out a gasp of surprise. Uncharacteristic of emotionless assassin, he was staring off into space at the prince's door. Unseen to the little girl, the Angel of Death was deeply embroiled in a battle with himself. What was right, what was wrong? Those were the thoughts that flashed through his mind. Was he justified in killing others just because he was ordered to do so?

"I... I... have no desire... to be part of your blundering," he whispered. "If you fail, I will, without hesitation, finish the target, and then you." One part of him hoped that she would fail, so at least he could have a reason to deal out the Fang's judgement. What if she succeeded? What justification would he have of killing her then? Was Sonia's resentment enough? None of this was missed by Nino, who raised an eyebrow at the assassin's change in tone of voice. For the first time, she heard something different, hesitation.

"Don't be so naïve as to expect help from your 'friends'..." he continued, back in his cold, monotonous voice. "Don't you forget this..."

"I know that!" Nino replied. "You don't have tell me, I'm a member of the Black Fang after all! I won't fail. I will become worthy, of course I will!" As she finished saying this, she stuttered and laughed hysterically, although quietly enough so that she didn't wake up the entire palace. Jaffar looked at the child again, regret and reluctance building up once again. The girl only had one thing on her mind, and that was to please a mother that hated her. He could almost feel her disappointment and despair when he would eventually kill her. The worst feeling of all would be the irony, the irony that the order to kill her would come from the mother she had worked so hard to please. Suddenly, in the silence of the night, they could hear voices coming from the prince's room, quiet mumbling but clearly audible.

"Listen, a voice!" Nino noted timidly. "Someone's talking in that room!" Was it a guard? Did they have a fight on their hands? That could very likely mean that the prince may escape, given his ability.

"No... someone is praying..." Jaffar noted as he listened closer. Calming down, Nino placed her ears closer to the door and listened.

"You're right!" she concurred. "It's the prince, isn't it? I wonder what he's praying for. I guess we're allowed to let him say his prayers before he dies, right? Hahaha..."

"I offer this prayer upon Thee..." they heard Zephiel pray. Excited about the day that was coming but worried that it that things may go wrong, he just could not sleep. "My coming-of-age ceremony is tomorrow. As the prince of Bern, I have tried... I have tried my very best not to be an embarrassment to my father."

Although Zephiel said his prayer quietly and serenely, Nino felt as though he had just shouted the same words in straight in her ear. How many times had she heard herself muttering exactly the same prayer, give or take a few words? She began to tremble periodically, as if the energy from Zephiel's soft prayer had been transferred to the girl.

" I know I have not met his expectations, " she heard Zephiel continue. "But I will try harder. I will please him..." "I promise to do better... for him," she finished the line for him as tears began forming in her eyes, just soon enough to hear it being echoed by the prince just a fraction of a second later. Images of her bitter childhood came flooding into her mind, all the scoldings, all the beatings for no apparent reason, were somehow reflected by the life that she was about to take away. Staring at her hands and then feeling her own face, Nino tried to confirm that she was really standing where she was and not the one uttering the prayer in the room.

"Lord, please hear me..." Zephiel went on. "Tomorrow, I will be a man, so this is my last wish as a foolish child. It's the same one I have asked of you every night since the day I learned to speak. Please bring father and mother together again. Please let the day come when Guinevere, her mother, my mother and I, when all of us can live together happily in the castle with our father, as one family. I beg you, amen."

Hearing Zephiel finish his prayer, Jaffar prepared to enter the room. Turning around to signal Nino for the assault, his soul seemed to leave him as he saw the girl slumped against the wall, tears pouring down her face like a fountain, breathing erratic. Her shaking was so violent that the pillar that she was leaning on started vibrating as well.

"Nino," he called quietly, snapping her out of her trance. "It's time." Turning the door handle slowly, he leapt into the room with phenomenal speed.

"Oh, no!" Nino cried loudly, breaking the serene peacefulness that was the night. "Jaffar, Wait!" Hearing the girl cry out in panic, Zephiel suddenly turned around in alarm, only to see Jaffar racing toward him at top flight.

"What? Villain!" he gasped. Raising his sword to defend himself, he could only watch helplessly as the Angel of Death disarmed him effortlessly, followed by a quick strike to his head with his fist as darkness fell on his world.

"That should leave him unconscious for a while..." Jaffar noted. "Now, Nino, it is time for you to do your part!" Walking forward, Nino stared at the motionless form of Zephiel with a feeling of reluctance. "Hurry up!" Jaffar ordered.

Raising her hand and channelling magical energy into her hands, Nino prepared for the kill. However, as she stared once again into Zephiel's peaceful face, his prayer once again echoed in her mind. "I have tried my very best not to be an embarrassment to my father, I know I have not met his expectations, but I will try harder," he had declared. 'I have tried my very best not to be an embarrassment to my mother, I know I have not met her expectations, but I willt try harder', she echoed in her own mind. All she could see from Zephiel's motionless form was not the prince of Bern, not her target, not even another boy, but a reflection of herself, lying face up, waiting to die because of a parent's jealousy and spite. She could not do anything but lower her arms slowly and sighed helplessly.

"I can't..." she said finally as Jaffar stared at her in utter shock and surprise. "Listen to him," she explained as tears flowed from her eyes again. "All he wants is love from his parents... to be accepted by his father. That is all. He's just like me, no matter how hard I try, my mum always looks at me if I were nothing. Her eyes are invariantly filled with disappointment. She has never held me... even once..."

"What are you doing?" Jaffar scolded her loudly. "Stop this foolishness now! I told you, I will not permit you to ruin my opportunity and my reputation!" What happened next was completely incomprehensible to the stout young assassin. Instead of proceeding with the assassination, getting out of his way or even running away, Nino stepping between the prince and himself, arms open wide, shielding Zephiel.

"I know, Jaffar," she told him resolutely. "You are the Angel of Death, do what you must. I won't resist, you can do it easily. Kill me and retain your reputation as one of the Four Fangs. Just don't hurt the prince, for pity's sake."

"I don't have time to waste with you!" Jaffar retorted loudly, raising his dagger at her chest. "Get out of my way!" Nino, however, stayed put.

"As long as there is a breath in my body, you will not harm the prince," she declared stubbornly, eyes closed with a look of acceptance and serenity. "My life is in your hands!"

Staring at the young girl's seemingly outrageous action, Jaffar kept his blade raised at her chest, arm shaking slightly. On any other day, he would have killed the silly girl without hesitation nor mercy. Every other of his victims have either died fighting him, or running away. Every one of them had the look of desperation and fear. This one act of defiance and fearlessness was completely new to him. One can force his will on another if they feared death or loss, but Jaffar realised he simply could not do the same to this girl.

"Fine!" he grunted as pierced forward with his blade, heading straight for her chest. However, something stirred inside the cold soul of the Angel of Death that night, hesitation and forces he just not control took hold, shifting the momentum of his arm toward the right, making him strike air instead of the soft surface of her body. All his life, he had obeyed Nergal's commands without question because there was no reason not to do so. He was merely an empty shell. Now, purpose had at last found itself in the form of the little girl that was standing in front of him.

Bracing for the strike, Nino was genuinely surprised to not feel a sharp pain in her chest after Jaffar lunged. Opening her eyes, she gasped as she saw his arm fully extended, but arched to her left, shaking as he tried to keep his arm steady.

"Jaffar?" she stuttered. "What... what are you doing?"

Good question, what _was_ he doing? Jaffar thought to himself. Why could he not bring herself to kill this helpless little girl? He did not feel like himself. 'Someone... someone is controlling me,' he thought to himself. 'Why am I suddenly so weak? What has come over me, what am I feeling?'

"Come on," he found himself saying as he pulled the girl over toward the door. "We're leaving, hurry. This is it, let's go."

Nino almost fell over in surprise. Was the man in front of her really Jaffar, the Angel of Death, the most capable assassin in the Black Fang? "But... but if you do this... Jaffar... you'll be..." she stammered as Jaffar shot her a silencing look.

"Don't worry about me," he told her as they walked quickly out of the corridor to the prince's room. "All you need to do now is to get out of... SHIT!" Hearing footsteps approach them, he quickly pushed Nino behind a pillar, signalling her to stay still and silent as the Ursula the Blue Crow rounded the bend with three henchmen.

"Ah, Jaffar!" she greeted. "Are you finished already? Such magnificent skill... is that why they call you the Angel of Death? Lady Sonia told me you were behaving oddly, but it appears her fears are groundless..."

"No, I'm sorry!" Nino piped up from behind the pillar, as Jaffar slammed his face into his palm. "It's not Jaffar's fault! It was me! I couldn't... the prince..."

"Nino, shut up!" Jaffar ordered, pointing his dagger at her menacingly. Seeing the girl alive, Ursula gasped, but collected herself before reducing her eyes to slits.

"What is this? Why is the girl still alive?" she enquired, much to Nino's disbelief. "You received Lady Sonia's orders, didn't you, Jaffar? You were to dispose of the worthless little runt."

"No!" Nino blurted out in utter dismay and shock. "My mother would never..." She was cut off when Jaffar backhanded her in the face, knocking her over instantly.

"Quiet, Nino!" he ordered gruffly. "You will not utter another word!" Seeing the them argue, Ursula nodded in understanding.

"I see..." she noted. "So that's how it is, Jaffar? Do you plan on betraying Lord Nergal?"

Turning back to the blue-dressed woman, Jaffar stared at her with fire in his eyes. "I will not let Nino die," he declared. Pointing his dagger at the woman, he hissed: "Don't you dare get in my way. You do, and you will die."

Ursula was rather surprised and taken aback by Jaffar new-found independent resolve. "Hahaha..." she snickered. "So you have some human emotion in you after all! This is amusing... very amusing indeed! The Angel of Death falls to save a worthless little girl! What a story indeed! You always seemed just like those creepy morphs. Hm, I bet you didn't kill the prince, either... Maxime!" One of her henchmen, a purple armoured paladin, stood to attention. "Take your men and put out the lights!" Ursula ordered. "Block all the entrances, your targets are Prince Zephiel and the two traitors. Finish this before we draw attention to ourselves!" Raising her palm, she began firing deadly fire magic at the duo. Knowing it was impossible to fight Ursula and all of her men alone, Jaffar moved with blinding speed, jumping up and grabbing Nino by the arm, sprinting as fast as he could away from the valkyrie as the lights went out, drowning the manse in a sea of dark.

They sprinted around a corner and found themselves facing about five hooded assassins as they reached one of the exits to the manse. Without hesitation, Jaffar leapt up and slitted their throats in the blink of an eye.

"Go, now!" he called to Nino, who was frozen where she stood. "I'll buy you some time, get out of here!"

"What?" Nino stuttered. "No! You must come as well, Jaffar!"

Jaffar shook his head and let out the first smile in his life. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he said clearly and for once, with emotion: "Nino... you must live. You are worthy of living. You saved my life, I'll never forget that." Turning around, he sprinted away, leaving a stunned Nino in his wake, heart spinning around in like a tornado.

"Wait, Jaffar!" she called desperately. "Come back!" Reluctance and regret filled every corner of Jaffar's being, but he could not stay in her presence any longer. His chest hurt just standing next to her. 'What is she doing to me?' he thought. 'Why is just staring into her face causing me so much pain? She's literally overpowering me without doing anything at all!'

"Get them!" called Maxime, charging forward with his lance. Turning around and staring at Nino one last time, Jaffar whirled around and leapt at the assassin sub-commander. In three exchanges, he easily stabbed the blade deep into the purple-armoured man's chest, eliciting a loud response. Without even thinking, he continued to another batch of assassins, fighting seven of them at once.

As Nino saw Jaffar run away to face off against the Black Fang assassins, her heart began accelerating as if gravity itself was pushing on it. The man was her friend, her comrade, maybe more! How could she just let him go on a suicidal rampage for her sake? He was sacrificing his life for hers, and there was no way for her to repay him. Forget repay him, all she wanted to was to see him again. That look of warm defiance on Jaffar's face was something she had never imagined that she would ever see, yet he had reserved it for her. Dropping to her knees, she could only weep helplessly at her situation. Her mother had apparently ordered for her to be killed, her stepbrothers were missing, and her one friend had just left her in an attempt to protect her. Everyone she cared about seemed to all be plucked out of her grasp, one by one. It was then she heard about forty armed people approach the manse, about twenty metres from where she was kneeling. Getting up and preparing herself for combat, she was pleasantly surprised when she heard their conversation. It was Eliwood and his group, who have travelled for three days non-stop to catch up to the assassins.

"The lights have been doused," noted Lyn as she approached quickly but calmly. "I hear the sound of fighting, what's going on?"

"I don't know," Hector replied. "Although, if they're still fighting, we might not be too late! We have to get inside and protect Prince Zephiel!" Glad that the additional visitors were not additional reinforcements sent to assassinate the prince, she quickly ran toward them.

"Hey!" she called as wild hope flickered from her insides. If they could help her, she might be able to make sure that Jaffar and Prince Zephiel lived. "Are you from the palace? The prince is in his room, knocked out! Please save him! I'll help you as much as I can!" Seeing the girl approach them, Eliwood and his friends were pleasantly surprised.

"Hold on, you're Nino, right?" he asked. "I thought you were ordered to assassinate the prince?"

"What? How did you know that?" Nino stammered in surprise.

Eliwood froze under her innocent gaze. Telling Hector and the others to continue on in the rescue mission and ordering Merlinus to inform the royal guard of the situation, he explained to Nino: "Well... we heard Sonia give the order for you to kill the prince, you haven't followed it, haven't you? It's good to see that you haven't. Chaos would spread through Elibe if he was killed."

Raising her eyebrow, Nino asked: "Who are you? How did you overhear my mother's order?"

"My name is Eliwood, of Pherae," Eliwood introduced himself. "I am the one that the Black Fang has set as its target over the past few months. We heard that the Fire Emblem was stolen, and in our investigation, we tracked it to the Black Fang's fortress."

Hearing his name, Nino gasped in recognition. "Ah! You're the one that my mother has ordered to be killed under the Black Fang's honour!" she gasped. Raising her arm, she prepared to fire an intense magical bolt at Eliwood.

"What have you done with my brothers? What happened to Linus? What happened to Lloyd?" she demanded. Seeing the little girl's voice rise steadily in volume and pitch, Eliwood tried desperately to calm her down.

"Peace, Nino, we did not harm your brother," he explained. "While Linus got into a battle with us at Deggendorf as a misunderstanding, we never hurt him. While he believed that we were evil before attacking us, his perception quickly changed after our battle. He promised to get to the bottom of the misunderstanding. What happened after that, we do not know. As for your other brother, we never met him, but I'm sure we would have pleased of each other's aquaintance."

Nino stared at him suspiciously, not lowering her arm. "I do not believe we should be enemies with the Black Fang," Eliwood continued. "All of this comes to a misunderstanding, one that is fuelled by a blackheart that is manipulating your organisation from outside. Have you heard of Nergal?"

Nino nodded. "Yes, he's the one that my mother always speaks of in the highest respect," she answered. "Afterward, she would always say how useless and unworthy I am..."

"That makes sense then," Eliwood went on. "Our intelligence have pin-pointed Sonia to be the one manipulating the Black Fang under Nergal's orders. We have met Nergal. He is a monster who kills people to steal their energy. With the Black Fang at his command, he secretly ordered many assassinations around the world, including in my homeland of Lycia, where a civil war was almost sparked. I'm afraid to say it, Nino, but your brothers, and by extension, your father, Brendan Reed, have all been ensnared by Sonia to follow whatever Nergal wants."

Nino's mouth expanded consistently as she listened to Eliwood tell his story. By the end, she was again on the verge of tears while her head shook repeatedly. "You're lying!" she cried. "My mother, although she's mean, she's not a bad woman! It can't be!"

Sighing sadly, Eliwood could only look at the little girl in pity. 'There's so much that she doesn't understand, but I don't know how much pain she would have to suffer if she were to get to the bottom of everything,' he pondered.

"I'm sorry, Nino," he exhaled regretfully. "This is the truth. The Black Fang is no longer the group you thought it was. Nergal is using it to his own ends, and is using Sonia to manipulate it. I'm not asking you to believe this all at once. However, I can only hope that you can have faith in us. It is the only truth. You're no assassin, Nino. I can see that in your heart, that you are a true and innocent young girl who longs for care. Am I incorrect in any way?"

Eliwood's words seemed to strike a chord. As soon as she heard "A true and innocent girl who longs for care", she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Come with us," Eliwood suggested. "We won't abandon you." Looking up, Nino nodded, and turned back toward the manse to look for Jaffar.

As the fighting ensued, Zephiel stirred in his room. Getting up from where he stood, he heard the sounds of screams echoing from outside.

"Ow..." he groaned as he tried to orient himself around the room. "That man... he's gone! What's going on?" Trying to gauge his memory and probing what was going on around him, he opened his eyes fully as adrenaline began pumping through his circulation.

"We're under attack!" he gasped. "I hear about ten, twenty people approaching. I need to get away... no, I can't do that! If I run, they'll just follow and surround me. I think it would be better to just stay here and face them when they come. Hopefully, I'll survive long enough for Murdock and his men to arrive back from father's castle, otherwise I'll just drag as many of them down to hell with me!"

As he finished deciding his course of action, an assassin carrying a large axe barged into his room, searching for his prey. Turning around and seeing Zephiel hide in the corner, seemingly helpless, he snickered in delight. "Where to, little prince?" he gloated smugly. "Looks like I'm going to get the prize for tonight!" Raising his axe, he brought it down, straight at Zephiel's head. Unfortunately for him, Zephiel quickly leapt out of the way and grabbed his fallen sword that was disarmed from him by Jaffar. Leaping to the left to dodge a second axe swing, he sent his sword stabbing forward, and in one quick stroke, pierced the brutish assassin in the chest.

Seeing that Zephiel was in his room, the Black Fang assassins quickly converged. Zephiel stood at the door, ambushing anyone who tried coming in. After seeing three of their own were killed trying to barge into the prince's room, the assassins tried changing tactics. They got a large assassin and dressed him in full armour, and then marched him into Zephiel's room. However skilled the prince was, there was no way that his sword could penetrate the larger man's armour. After about fifteen exchanges, the large assassin swept Zephiel off his feet and held him up by his neck.

"Hahaha!" he laughed as he began squeezing the life from Zephiel. "Not so tough now, hey, your Highness? You know, you're a nice guy, but I need to earn my keep, you know?" Zephiel tried bringing his sword down again and again on the man's armour, only to see it bounce straight off. 'Shit, I'm screwed now...' he thought. Suddenly, long burst of flame burst into the room and set the large assassin on fire. Screaming in pain, he let go of Zephiel and attempted it put it out, but having full armour on, he had no chance.

As it turned out, straight after the large assassin in armour entered the room, Hector and the others reached the room and began fighting with the assassins. After talking with Eliwood, Nino sprinted as fast as she could in the manse, looking for Jaffar, praying that he was safe. Catching up with Hector, she saw Zephiel being throttled to death by the huge assassin in armour and remembered how she had decided to die protecting him, so she decided to intervene by using her most powerful fire spell on him, barbecuing him alive. Seeing him let go of the prince and die horrifically, she quickly turned around and continued looking for Jaffar, leaving Zephiel to be taken care of by Eliwood and his troops.

"Prince Zephiel!" Hector called as he entered the room, pushing aside the burnt carcass of the huge assassin in armour. "Are you okay?"

Zephiel eyed at the larger man suspiciously. "Ah, I am very well!" he replied. "Who are you? Who sent you here?"

"I'm from Ly-" Hector began, immediately stopping. "I'm here to rescue you. My friends and I heard that there was going to an attempt on your life. As loyal citizens of Bern, we wanted to prevent this catastrophe. We will drive back the foe, get back and watch the show, Your Highness!"

"I will not," Zephiel replied flatly, much to Hector's surprise. "I know neither your name nor your motives. Why should I trust you?"

Hector shrugged. "I guess you have a point," he conceded. "Although, we can't tell you who we are. We've got reasons... complicated ones."

Zephiel considered his options. On one hand, he did not want to accept help from an unknown group of fighters, but coming out of his near-death experience taught him otherwise. 'They certainly do not seem malicious,' he thought.

"I see," he said finally. "In that case, I'll place my life in your hands. If you were assassins, I would already be dead now. I must trust you."

Glad to see that sorted out, Hector gave an "On my honour!" response, and immediately went to work on taking out the Black Fang assassins. About twenty metres away, Nino was running around the manse, looking for Jaffar. After running around for about two minutes, she finally spotted the assassin battling three enemies at once, breathing quick and agitated, while sweat drenched his plain garments. Although the three were no match for him, having spent the last hour battling hordes and hordes of trained assassins, he had no energy left to go in for the kill, reserving as much energy as he can to defend, hoping to buy as much time for Nino as he can. Little did he know that the girl that he was working so desperately to save was running straight back in her direction. She fired another burst of her most powerful fire magic at the three assassins, killing one of them and giving Jaffar just the opening to finish them off on his own.

"Jaffar!" she called clearly but with a slight twinge of urgency as she ran toward him, grateful that he was unharmed but concerned for his well-being, clearly seeing the exhaustion on his face. Freezing where he stood, Jaffar almost fainted when he heard her call. 'No... that little fool... she didn't...?' he begged his consciousness. Turning around, he felt a strong sense of nausea from shock at seeing the little girl sprinting toward him and diving into him, arms open wide. The hairs on his back stood erect as soon as she made contact him. Mouth open and heart pounding, he could only hear himself saying coldly: "I thought I told you to flee. Do you really want to waste this opportunity that I have paid my life for?"

Looking up, she silenced him immediately with her mournful, tear-filled face. "No, you're coming with me!" she wailed. "I have found some people who have come to help us!"

Jaffar sighed and shook his head. "Go," he ordered. "There is no need to save a life without worth. I am a corpse... I have been dead since the day I was born, lying on a stash of human skulls. How was I any different? Leave me!"

"No, I refuse!" Nino screamed stubbornly at him. "Do you know how much pain you put me in when you left on your suicidal charge? If you're coming, then I'm staying! I've lost everyone close to me already, I don't want you to die, either, Jaffar!"

'What is she talking about?' Jaffar wondered. 'Why would she want to stay with me until the end when she can escape with her life here and now? It follows absolutely no sense or reason, yet... it feels so right! After all, aren't I doing exactly the same thing?' He was about to argue back when he saw a long stream of lightning suddenly stream toward them. Without thinking, he quickly pushed Nino out of the way, but that split second was enough to cost him the time to dodge, the lightning hitting him square in the stomach. Hollering in pain, the Angel of Death dropped to his knees, throwing up a mouthful of blood. Seeing her friend take such a hit, Nino screamed in horror immediately tried to tend to him, only to be pushed away again by Jaffar.

"Go!" he ordered again as he struggled to stay up, clutching his gut tightly. Staring straight ahead, he watched as Ursula marched toward the pair.

"Why are you doing, Jaffar?" she sighed while shaking her head. "Is such vermin worth throwing your life away for? You are the unparalleled Angel of Death of Lord Nergal, one of the Four Fangs in the Black Fang. How are you so willing to toss that all away for such a useless little girl that Lady Sonia has branded refuse?" Turning to Nino, she spat: "You, useless spawn, why won't just die as my Lady Sonia wishes?"

The words struck Nino like a block of lead. "No!" she denied furiously, although doubt was already creeping into her heart, making her want to vomit. "My mother would never do that! True, she's not a very nice person... but surely she won't do that do her own flesh and blood!"

Ursula rolled her eyes in contempt. "Hmph, you really know nothing, little fool..." she hissed. "All I can try and for you is to make sure that you don't die painfully..." Turning back to Jaffar, she gave him the ultimatum: "Jaffar, I can let your live if you want... all you have to do is follow the orders given to you by Lady Sonia and dispose of Prince Zephiel and the little bitch, and I can promise that nothing that has transpired tonight will be revealed to your superiors."

Having got back up on his feet, Jaffar gripped his blade as tight as he could, as if the blade could save both Nino and himself. Having made his mind up long ago, he stared down Ursula with a clenched jaw. "I will ensure that Nino lives, that is all," he declared. "Kill me if you want, but I doubt you'll find it easy!" Leaping forward, he charged at the valkyrie and attacked with everything he had, doing his best to ignore the stabbing pain in his stomach. Even with his sudden adrenaline rush, his injury and exhaustion from fighting for the whole night greatly held him back, and within fifty exchanges, Ursula had easily outmaneuvered him and blasted him with her own fire magic, pushing him back and incapacitating him instantly. Gathering her power for the killing blow, she suddenly cried in pain as she was struck from behind a long blast of lightning just like how she had originally hit Jaffar.

"What the hell?" she gasped as she turned around, and to her surprise, she saw Nino with her hands smoking from the blast.

"Jaffar is not to blame!" she cried desperately. "If you want to kill anyone, kill me!" Rushing forward, she charged up her own magical power as Ursula gathered her own. In a clash, they locked palms and sent their entire body's power through them. 'What the hell is this?' Ursula marvelled as found that her internal magical energy was no higher than Nino's. 'How does this worthless little girl have so much raw power in her? This shouldn't be happening!' Pushing forward with her full power, she stared into Nino's fire-filled eyes with amazement. Suddenly, a dagger hit her squarely in the back, causing her to shriek in agony.

"I told you I will not let Nino die..." Jaffar wheezed as he lay on the ground, having thrown his dagger at the Blue Crow's back. Having her concentration taken away by the surprise attack, Ursula could no longer stand up to Nino's magic, spitting up a mouthful of blood as her internal organs were crushed by Nino's attack as well her own power reflecting backward on her.

"This can't be..." she wheezed as she died. "Not... by you..." Just as she fell to the ground, the lights of the castle came back on as scores of soldiers came into the castle to tend to Prince Zephiel. Without the element of surprise nor their commander any more, they could do nothing but flee.

Seeing the Black Fang leave, Eliwood signalled for his group to remove themselves from the manse before drawing too much attention to themselves. Seeing Nino and Jaffar exhausted and injured, he ordered for Marcus and Harken to carry them out of the manse.

Relieved that everything was over, Nino could only embrace the wounded Jaffar as firmly as she could while giving him a vulnerary to heal his wounds. "I'm so glad you're okay..." she exhaled with alleviation.

Jaffar also sighed with relief as he saw that Nino was unharmed. However, looking up, he saw that his saviours were none other than Eliwood, Lyn and Hector, the ones he had confronted at the Dragon's Gate. "Why don't you kill me?" he asked them coldly.

Recognising Nino's friend as none other than the one who barred their way at the Dragon's Gate, Eliwood could not help anger and disdain build up within himself. This was the man that prevented him from escaping with his father and therefore had a hand in his death. However, seeing the cold-blooded assassin show genuine tenderness for his companion caused his heart to stir, and then soften. From what he heard from Nino, he had attempted to sacrifice himself so she could escape. How could he bring himself to put an end to his life after witnessing such a selfless act?

"You didn't take the prince's life," Lyn reminded him. "Therefore, we won't take yours, it's that simple."

Jaffar turned his head and snorted in contempt. "You're so naïve," he said arrogantly. "Do you know how many of your friends I have killed? Do you remember that red-haired spy? She was one of them."

At this, Hector, who had been staring at the Angel of Death with pure hatred, lost all of his composure. "You monster!" he roared as he drew his axe. "I'll send you to hell where you belong!"

"Hector! Calm down!" Eliwood implored as he pulled his friend back. Pulling free from his grasp, Hector shouted: "Let go of me, Eliwood, I'm going to kill him!" He rushed forward to bring his axe down on the man, only to be blocked when Nino threw herself in front of the assassin, arms wide open like she did with Zephiel. "Stop it!" she cried.

Hector froze. "Why don't you draw your weapon and fight me?" he demanded at Jaffar.

Jaffar merely shrugged. "I have not been ordered to," he told Hector flatly. Nino rushed forward and dropped to her knees in front of the blue-haired lord, begging: "Please forgive Jaffar, he has only known of Nergal's orders and nothing else."

Taking advantage of Hector's hesitation, Eliwood moved forward to pull his friend back again, this time with Lyn's support. "Some sins cannot be forgiven..." he sighed sadly. "But now... we need all the help we can to defeat Nergal. Jaffar, you were planning on throwing your life away, weren't you? If you've come to regret your past actions, then come and fight with us."

"Regret?" Jaffar mused. "Such emotions mean nothing to me..." He let out a yelp of pain when Nino hit him as she can over the head.

"Jaffar!" she scolded him. "How could you!"

Jaffar shrugged. "I guess... if you want me to, I'll do it..." he conceded. "If you can ensure me Nino's safety, then I will help you."

On the side, Hector was still fuming. "Hmph," he snorted at Jaffar. "You live for now, knave. You are nothing but a tool, and it serves no-one to break them. Just remember, Jaffar, I will never forgive you for what you've done!" Turning around, he stomped away in fury as Eliwood and the others desperately tried to calm him down.

On the other side of the manse, where the dead Black Fang assassins were dumped, ready for collection, an eerie woman with black hair and golden eyes scanned the area. After a little bit of walking around, she found what she was looking for.

"Ursula..." Limstella mused at the Blue Crow's corpse. Putting her hand to the body, she began absorbing leftover quintessence from the woman. "Beyond hearing already? This really is excellent quintessence, I do believe Lord Nergal would pleased..."


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14: Your Soul is Black and Devoid of Warmth_

The sun had fully risen on the kingdom of Bern, and it was the start of a new beginning for its people. Little did they know, however, that the day of Prince Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony almost never came. Neither did their queen, for some reason.

Eliwood and Hector were back in their lordling outfits, while Lyn changed back into Sacaen garb. The prince's coming-of-age ceremony was to be held at 1400 hours sharp, so they decided to address the queen and return the Fire Emblem in the morning, well before the main festivities took place.

"My apologies for the wait," one of the queen's attendants addressed Pent and Louise, who were leading the young lords to see her. Stretching out his hand courteously, he led them into the room.

Knowing that it would be pointless to be angry with Jaffar, Hector resumed the day as if he knew nothing of what happened the night before. While Eliwood was used to Hector's various mood swings, Lyn had expected him to wake up on the wrong side of the tent, especially with only around three hours of sleep.

"Hector is always like that..." Eliwood assured her when she questioned whether Hector was okay. "He would usually hide his feelings from us if he thinks they are harmful to the rest of us. I expect him to be cursing Jaffar and the Black Fang in his heart right now, but he won't let it out in the open."

As they walked into the manse to where Queen Hellene's office was, Hector and Lyn were both covered in goosebumps. "The queen of Bern..." Hector exhaled uncomfortably. "I know this is supposed to be a private audience, but courtly niceties aren't my strong suit." Lyn could only nod in agreement. She had caused quite a significant amount of embarassment for her grandfather while in court simply because she was not accustomed to the behaviours required for a Lycian noble-lady. Although Lord Hausen was patient, knowing that she was brought up in Sacae, the rest of the population were more inclined to gossip about the eccentric behaviour of their marquess' granddaughter.

"Ah, so you have returned!" Queen Hellene boomed regally as she greeted them. "Were you successful? Did you recover the Fire Emblem safely?"

'Nothing about how we saved the life of her son last night?' Eliwood pondered in surprise. "It is more than an honour to meet you, Queen Hellene," Eliwood returned the greeting with a bow. "More importantly, has no one told you about what happened here in the manse last night?"

"You mean something about assassins sneaking in, right?" Hellene replied dismissively. Waving her hand, she continued: "I have no time for such trifles... quickly, hand me back the Fire Emblem!"

Obediently, Eliwood pulled the blood-red gem from his pocket and presented it to her, using both arms and kneeling on one knee with marked respect. "Hahaha... without a doubt, this is the Fire Emblem!" Hellene laughed hysterically as she examined the gem. "With this... my Zephiel holds rightful claim to the succession! Now... it will never pass onto that annoying Guinevere! Mwahahaha!"

Eliwood stood frozen to the spot. 'Does she care about her son at all?' he thought to himself. "Pardon me, Queen Hellene, but..." he began when she looked at him with crazed mirth in her eyes.

"Oh yes, I had forgotten," she said quickly. "You would want your promised reward, right? Zephiel's throne has been saved, of course I'll keep my word. It was supposed to be the road to the Shrine of Seals, was it not?" Getting up, she walked over to a private cabinet and retrieved a book with directions to the shrine and presented it to Eliwood. Eliwood, however, stayed put.

"What is it?" she snapped. "Do you want more?"

Shaking his head, Eliwood looked Hellene straight in the eye. "I have a pressing question to ask you first, Queen Hellene, and I hope you'll forgive me for asking it," he told her seriously. "What is His Royal Highness Prince Zephiel to you?"

Hellene's joyous expression flicked immediately. "His Highness Prince Zephiel is your trueborn son, isn't he?" Eliwood drilled on. "Is he your son, or is he, like the Fire Emblem, nothing more than a tool for securing the throne?"

"How dare you!" Hellene screamed at him as all traces of happiness evaporated instaneously. "Such insolence! Who do you think you are talking to?"

"This has nothing to do with title!" Eliwood retorted indignantly. "You are free to possess your desires and aspirations, but your own innocent son... how could you not care when His Highness' life was placed at risk?"

With a look of confusion, Hellene could only stammer: "What do you mean? How has Zephiel been threatened?"

Watching the queen turn so sour was a very ugly scene indeed, and to the family- and clan-oriented Lyn, it was too much to bear. "Didn't you hear us?" she snapped at Hellene. "Assassins broke in last night, and nearly killed..." She was unable to continue when Eliwood suddenly raised his hand to silence her.

"Lyndis, that's enough..." he sighed in defeat. "I beg your leave, your Highness." With a swish of his cloak, he tore out of the room, Lyn, Hector, Pent and Louise all following suit. Seeing the lordlings leave, Hellene could only ball up her fists in fury.

"Stop right there!" she called. "We're not finished yet, you need to explain yourself! Someone stop those insolent children, someone!" A guard was about to go and bring them back when a purple armoured knight walked into the room and stopped him. Turning to Hellene, he bowed courteously.

"My lady queen," he greeted. "I apologise for overriding your order just now."

"Murdock!" Hellene returned the greeting in surprise. "I thought you were summoned to the castle by His Majesty the king!"

Murdock nodded in acknowledgement. "I was," he replied. "I've only just returned. One of my men informed me everything that happened last night in the manse." His expression turning dark, he continued: "There is something that I must inform you of, your Highness. Assassins from a terrorist organisation called the Black Fang broke into the manse last night. Their target... was Prince Zephiel."

Hellene felt like the roof had just caved in on her. "What?" she stammered. "Surely you're joking me!"

Murdock shook his head. "I confirmed this with Prince Zephiel and my men when I returned. According to them, he was saved by the those young people that just left the building. Aye, my lady queen, I must apologise right now. I failed in my duties and almost allowed Prince Zephiel to be assassinated." Pulling his sword from his sheath, he held it to his own neck. "On my honour as a knight, I will pay for my incompetence here!"

"Stop it!" cried Hellene as she listened to Murdock's recount in terror. "I forbid you to carry through with this!" Tears flowed from her eyes as she slumped against her seat. 'I blamed those children wrongly...' she thought to herself as shame filled every corner of her being. 'Zephiel, oh Zephiel... how your mother has failed you!'

"Is he your son, or is he, like the Fire Emblem, nothing more than a tool for securing the throne?" Eliwood's question echoed again in her mind. 'What is Zephiel to me?' she questioned. 'Of course he is my son! However... have I really acted like his mother? That boy is right... my ambitions have truly blinded me to my responsibilities! My son is truly to be pitied... his father actively hates him, and now he has me, a worthless snail of a mother who neglects him! You're also partly the reason that the king hates Zephiel so much, Hellene! If you didn't spite him so much, then Zephiel would not have to suffer so much!'

"You are not to blame, Murdock," she said after collecting herself. "Everything that has transpired is my fault. I have neglected in my duties as the queen of Bern, and as of Zephiel's mother. I truly deserve to pit into the deepest layer of hell!"

"My queen, you must not say that!" Murdock interrupted. "You have done nothing to risk Prince Zephiel's life. Had I known that the prince would be endangered last night, even if it were to cost me my life and disobey the king's orders, I would have stayed with the prince until the end!"

Hellene could only look at the ground pensively. Getting up, she walked over to the her draw and pulled out a large seal and placed it inside the book that gave directions to the Shrine of Seals. "You do not know the details, Murdock," she said finally. "I have not been the loving mother that I am supposed to be." She walked quickly from the drawer to the door, hoping that she was not too late. Turning around, she told the general: "I do not have time to argue with you know, Murdock, but I wish you to do me a favour. Those children who in here just before... I want you to pass down the command, that no soldier of Bern are to lay a finger on them in the next three days. I also want you to send Zephiel to me, I wish to talk to him shortly. Understood?"

Not completely understanding why she would give such an order, Murdock could only bow courteously in acknowledgement. "Yours will be done, your Highness," he replied. Satisfied, Hellene rushed through the door, hoping that Eliwood and his friends had not yet left.

Fortunately for the grateful queen, they had not left. Eliwood crouched on the ground with his head in his hands, cursing himself for being too idealistic and too nosy for his own good.

"Well... that's that, isn't it?" Hector sighed with marked disappointment is his voice.

"Lord Pent... Lady Louise," Eliwood groaned apologetically. "I'm so sorry... I wasted such a perfectly good opportunity, after all the trouble you went through to get it, I threw it away, just like that..."

While he was not very happy about the lost chance to get to the Shrine of Seals, Pent did not think Eliwood did anything wrong. 'I guess he's just a young man who's a bit too nice for his good,' he thought to himself. 'However, he had no ill intent behind it... he will grow to be a great leader, should he gain a bit more life experience.' "Don't beat yourself up over it," he assured the young lord. "You said nothing that I did not agree with."

"Lady Hellene has changed..." Louise sighed sadly. "Before she was married, she was a very kind woman who only wanted to be a dedicated wife and a loving mother. She and the king are ill-matched, and so she has suffered much. Now... all she is obsessed with is the succession, such a sad life..."

"Both his parents are alive..." Lyn whispered pitifully. "Yet, they're both awful, I feel so sorry for him."

"Still..." Eliwood brooded regretfully. "Even if it was justified, I really should have left it unsaid. After all, who am I to butt into other people's family business, especially that of Bern's royal family? I angered the queen, and in doing so, we've lost the aid we had in Bern."

"Oh well, it's over and done with," Hector shrugged. "There's no sense worrying about it now. We need to consider our next course of action."

They were about to leave when a strong female voice clipped the air: "You haven't lost your aid in Bern, go no further!" Turning around, they were surprised to see Queen Hellene sprinting toward them, alone.

"Queen Hellene!" Eliwood stood to attention with marked surprise in his voice. "What are you... where are your guards?"

Hellene had not sprinted as hard as she did for many, many years. Out of breath and panting, she pushed on her knees with her arms to try and catch her breath. "Your name..." she chuffed as she reached into her coat, taking out the book containing the map to the Shrine of Seals. "It is Eliwood, yes? Take this book and this seal. It is my reward to you. The book contains the map to the Shrine of Seals. The seal was a wedding present from Count Reglay from Etruria. I was saving it for Zephiel, but I believe that right now, you need it more than my son does. Furthermore, I have guaranteed that your path will remain clear for the next three days. No matter what happens during that time, Bern's forces will not move. I can make no promises about the king's personal troops, though."

"You have done more than enough," Eliwood replied gratefully. He had already lost hope that they would reach the Shrine of Seals, and was rather taken aback by Hellene's sudden change of heart. "You have my heartfelt gratitude, but, your Highness, why all of this for us?"

Hellene's closed her eyes serenely. "I want to thank you, not as the queen of Bern, but the mother of Zephiel," she said gently and compassionately, no trace of the sour, angry queen remained in her expression. "You saved my son, as well as waking me up to who am I really am. I am forever in your debt, and I also wish to apologise for my behaviour. Now... shouldn't you be going to your destination?" With this, she handed the book to Eliwood, swept her cloak and walked straight back to the manse.

Eliwood and the others could only watch Hellene walk away with amazement. "So this book is a map..." Hector mused as he examined the book in Eliwood's hands. "What is this 'seal', though?"

Opening the book, Eliwood let out another gasp of surprise. "It's a Heaven Seal!" he stammered. "To think that we could receive something so valuable..."

"She must really have listened to you then, didn't she?" Lyn finished for him. "Let's take these go as soon as possible!"

"Hold on," Pent noted. "While Louise and I would like to go as much as you do, we do have to keep to our appointment, which is to attend Prince Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony. It would severely hurt the relations of both our countries if I declined now. Would it be okay if we departed tomorrow?" The lordlings did not think it would be too much of a hassle, so they agreed.

Back in the royal manse, Zephiel paced around the room patiently. His mother had sent for him, but for what reason? Surely she knows that he is a man now.

"Zephiel," Hellene called as she entered the room. The sight of Zephiel brought a whole new feeling now. While it used to be a symbol of her pride, it now brought her relief, regret and ruth.

"Mum, what's wrong?" Zephiel asked gently as he watched his mother's eyes sparkle as tears started forming. Hellene could only walk up to Zephiel and embrace him tightly, knowing full well how close it could have been that she would never be able to do what she was doing again.

"Zephiel... my dear, irreplaceble son..." she sobbed quietly. "You've... you've endured so much heartache because of me. I really do not deserve to be your mother..."

"That's not true!" Zephiel countered. "Without you, without father, where would I be?"

Hellene took no heed. "From this forward, I want your father and I, and your sister, Guinevere, to live as one loving family," she choked. "I am ashamed at the way I have behaved. The king may not forgive me for being the woman that I have been. However, I will make recompense for my mistakes, no matter how long. I want to change, and if I speak to him from the heart, I hope that he will understand someday. After all, we are a family."

Zephiel almost fainted in bliss. After all, isn't this what he had been praying every night for over fifteen years? "That's right!" he agreed. "He will see, we will be together as a loving family!"

o0o

The sun had set, and Prince Zephiel was now officially recognised by the Kingdom of Bern to be the heir to the throne, much to King Desmond's disappointment.

"We need to leave as soon as the sun rises tomorrow morning," Eliwood noted. "The quicker we get to that Shrine, the better. Let's get a good night of rest, so we'll be fresh tomorrow morning." He was about to order everyone to get to sleep when suddenly, Legault rushed into the room and informed him: "Bad news, Lord Eliwood! Nino just ran off by herself!"

Anxiety spread through Eliwood and Lyn like wildfire, as well as a slight sense of annoyance, while Hector would could only slam his hand into his face. "Where is she going?" Lyn asked.

"She said she wanted to see her mother for the last time," Legault replied. "I tried to restrain her, but she proved stronger than I imagined. Also, after hearing that she went alone, Jaffar followed her as well."

"I'm interested to know why she's going to meet Sonia in the dead of the night," Lyn moaned. "Nino... don't you realise that you're just sending yourself to die?"

Eliwood nodded in agreement. "I agree," he concurred. "There's no way Sonia will be moved by her feelings. We're going to have to follow them right away."

"Hold on a minute!" interrupted Hector irritably as Eliwood and Lyn rushed for the door. "Why are we even bothering? Jaffar is a killer, Eliwood. He's slaughtered our friends, I can't forgive him! I know Nino is another case, but is all this necessary? Do we need his strength so much that we must now rescue him?"

Eliwood raised his eyebrow. He knew Hector was upset that they had accepted Jaffar, but he did not expected that Hector would hate him so much that he would openly talk about it. "That's not it, Hector," he replied. "I just want those two to live on. Their lives have been so hard, and that is why I said and did what I did. My feelings were confirmed in Bern. The Black Fang are not all evil, they are just being manipulated by Nergal. Some of them must be fighting against their better judgement."

"Is that what you believe about Jaffar?" Hector retorted grudgingly.

Eliwood shrugged in response. "I'm not sure..." he answered. While he did despise Jaffar for killing his friends and barring their escape from the Dragon's Gate, he knew that not everything Jaffar did was his fault. He wasn't the ruthless monster that Eliwood had first envisioned him to be.

"You've seen how he behaves around Nino," he explained. "He seems like a completely different from the man we fought at the Dragon's Gate. He seems... to have purpose now. Before, he killed because Nergal ordered him to, he didn't know any better."

Lyn nodded her agreement. "I feel the same way," she concurred. "What do you think, Hector?"

Hector crossed his arms angrily, nose flaring as his breathing became heavy. "He has killed my friends," he heaved stubbornly, face bright red, fuelled by his fiery heart. "He is my enemy. No matter what happens, that will never change!"

"So you'll just watch them die?" Lyn questioned.

"That is not what I said!" Hector argued. "I want him to stay alive, so he can suffer for everything he has done! Are you satisfied?" Letting out a deep sigh, he went on, this time with no malice whatsoever: "I'm done, I won't do any more ranting. I'm sorry about that. You two going to come, or what?" Grabbing his axe from the table, he walked straight out of the inn, leaving a stunned Eliwood and Lyn in his wake.

o0o

Crickets were chirping as Nino stormed through the Bern countryside, her mind in total chaos. What happened in the early morning had left her completely shattered. "Why won't you just die as my Lady Sonia wishes?" Ursula had spat. While she knew Ursula was her enemy at the time, she also knew that the Blue Crow was not a dishonourable woman. She was surely telling the truth. However, if she was, then what did that mean for her? Had Sonia really ordered her death? Why would she do that? She was so troubled that she did not even hear footsteps closing in on her, only jumping when a hand reached her shoulder.

"It's very late," Jaffar said coldly. "Where do you think you're going?" Nino could only stare at him sadly, unable to say a single word. "You're going to see Sonia?" Jaffar concluded, as she nodded. "Do you know where she would be?" he asked her.

"The mountain fortress has been discovered," Nino sighed. "So, I think she would be in the other place."

"Are you talking about the Water Temple?" Jaffar questioned. "What are you going to do when you get there?"

Nino twidled her thumbs, trying to think of what to say. "I haven't told them..." she mumbled. "They're all good people, the Black Fang, so they would know that I'm not lying. Still, I want to see my mum. I want to hear the truth from her."

Jaffar closed his eyes and shook his head impatiently. "Nino..." he sighed with genuine concern. "Sentiment will not protect you from that woman." Having seen her angry rant about her own daughter first hand, he knew that Sonia was as good as her word.

"I know that!" Nino retorted. "But... she's my mother! I'm her daughter, she's the only family that I have!"

"That is something I cannot understand..." Jaffar exhaled sadly. "I won't let you go alone, if you go, I'll come with you, is that alright?" He did not even need an answer to know that she approved.

o0o

The Water Temple was another huge, imposing structure that the Black Fang had decided to use as a base. From the outside, one would easily be fooled into thinking it was a mere cave under a waterfall, but once they stepped inside, awe would grip any first-time visitors. The temple had twelve huge orifices in which water ran into the giant chamber in a controlled fashion. Four gated channels was present in each corner which drained the water away from the temple. It was here that Sonia had decided to take refuge. Looking into the water, she felt white, hot rage exasperating from everywhere in her body. The water surrounded her began to bubble as if in response. How could have everything gone so wrong? Nergal had ordered that they must have the king in their debt. It should have been a rather easy mission to undertake, considering how Jaffar was able to kill virtually anyone. Yet, Prince Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony had clearly gone ahead, and now the Black Fang were branded enemies of the state and everyone of them were to be captured dead or alive. What could possibly have gone wrong? Her question was answered when an underling informed her of the events that happened the night before, which brought her anger to unfathomable heights.

"Nino... that failure!" she screamed as she blasted her informant into the water, killing him instantly. "I knew Lord Nergal made a mistake in her! A worthless piece of trash as she always is!" What she was unable to comprehened, however, was why Jaffar did not finish off the prince, and supposedly spared the stinking trash that her daughter was. What could have come over him? Wasn't he the Angel of Death, the most feared assassin in all of Elibe?

"Sonia," called a voice from behind her. Limstella had just warped in, the usual expression of indifference on her face.

Sonia's face soured as if someone had just poured vinegar straight down her throat. "Hmph, pay attention on how casually you call a human by her name, you stupid puppet," she spat. "What do you want?"

"Eliwood is still alive," Limstella casually informed her. "Lord Nergal's orders have not yet been fulfilled."

All the colour flushed from Sonia's face immediately. Limstella had reminded her of her negligence without any hint of accusation whatsoever, but she would have preferred it that Limstella shouted them at her. "Shut up, you abomination!" she retorted. "I know that! I know the Four Fangs are gone... but I'm still here. I will finish Eliwood and his friends with my own two hands!"

Limstella was about to wish her luck when a door slammed shut from next to them. Striding in, axe tightly in hand and shaking with fury, was the hulking form of Brendan Reed. Jan had returned with information about Sonia's past, and it was not something he enjoyed reading at all.

"Sonia, I must speak!" he called as he paced toward them. "It's about something I found..." Eyes flickering around, he saw Limstella standing next to Sonia. "Who's that?" he asked suspiciously.

Looking around, Sonia snorted with satisfaction. 'At last, something will go right for once,' she thought to herself. "Oh well..." she snickered. "I suppose it's best I was done with you now, anyway. Hehehehe... those annoying brothers were all that prevented me from acting sooner." Her heart jumped even higher when she saw Brendan's look of shock and surprise.

"I got close to you so I could take control of the Black Fang," she revealed. "Take a look around you. You don't have a familiar face to be seen, don't you? I've been replacing your little group of do-gooders with Lord Nergal's puppets, his morphs!" With this, she burst into a crazed laughter.

Brendan could only take the information with quiet acceptance. He always suspected that Sonia was up to no good, but he had always made excuses for her. Why? He did not know. 'It must be because I found her to be too sexy and irresistable...' he berated himself. He shook with fury, partly at Sonia at Sonia's betrayal, but more because of his own weakness to temptation. Now, he truly knew the danger that a woman can pose to anyone, but he also knew it was way too late.

"So... you have betrayed me," he nodded.

"It took your fucking time!" Sonia sneered. "What a fool you are, Brendan Reed! Your own sons suspected me right from the beginning! Every minute spent with you, every little caress, every night of indulgence for you... revolted me to no end! You do not know how long I have dreamt for this day!" She spat at the ground straight in front of him.

"It was all for Lord Nergal," she continued. "It was all to control the Four Fangs. Now it's over! Why don't you die for me now? Die for your _beloved_ wife!"

With this, the full realisation that he had lost everything hit Brendan Reed, causing him to lose all composure. "Sonia, you inhuman bitch!" he roared. Raising his axe, he charged straight at Sonia, who immediately a bolt of bright-blue lightning at him, causing him to double over in agony. Walking over to him slowly, Sonia examined his seemingly incapacitated form gloatingly.

"Not so strong, now, are you, _commander_?" she laughed. "Oh, I'm going to make you suffer for I have been forced to go through!" When she got within a metre of the man, though, Brendan suddenly leapt at her, axe coming straight down at her head. "Oh shi-" Sonia let out a scream before attempting to dodge the attack. However, she had allowed herself to get too close to the Black Fang leader, only being able to stop her head from becoming mince-meat. However, she was not quick enough to avoid the axe altogether, with it coming down on her left shoulder, fracturing it immediately. Letting out a scream of pain and fury, she gathered as much power into her right arm as possible and sent powerful freezing magic at Brendan, freezing all of his major arteries and veins. 'Lloyd... Linus... Forgive your foolish father...' he mused to himself as he froze to death.

"Brendan Reed..." Limstella piped up greedily as she began drawing the life energy from Brendan's still warm corpse. "What magnificent quintessence! I will deliver it to Lord Nergal at once."

"Hmph!" Sonia snorted in contempt. "Don't forget who actually killed him, you dirty puppet! Make sure you tell him I'm the one who killed him!" Before she could go on, the blood and pain gushing from her injured shoulder had caught up with her, and with adrenaline quickly draining from her circulation, she doubled over and clutched it in agony.

"Why couldn't that idiot just die?" she cursed. "He had to be the leader of the Black Fang leader even to the bitter end..." She started circulating her energy toward her shoulder in an attempt to ease the pain when a loud roar of anguish filled the air.

"Commander!" Jan screamed. "No, you monsters!" Picking up his own axe, he sprinted toward the door as fast as he could, only stopping when Nino and Jaffar walked in and blocked his way.

"Uncle Jan!" she greeted cheerfully. Seeing Jan's hysterical expression, her face was replaced with look of concern. "What's wrong?"

Jan let out a scream of despair. "Nino?" he gasped. "Why have you come back? Get out of here, now! The commander... that woman..." He was immediately cut off when Sonia and Limstella both materialised in between him and Nino.

"What were you going to say about me?" Sonia growled with her hand cupped on her shoulder. Jan's heart almost jumped out of his mouth. Raising her hand, she fired a beam at his head, knocking him out immediately. However, she was not able to do it without letting out a painful grimace.

"You appear to be injured," Limstella noted. "Do you want me to take over your duties?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Sonia spat angrily. "I will never let a creature like you seize the glory that is mine! I was chosen by Lord Nergal himself, a perfect being!" Sighing in defeat, Limstella disappeared to deliver Brendan's quintessence to Nergal.

As soon as she watched the other woman dematerialise, Sonia rounded on Nino. "Nino," she growled menacingly. "You failed once again, and you've tarnished my reputation."

While Nino was drawing on her courage to confront Sonia and demand the truth from her, once she was in front of her mother, she could only cower in fear as Sonia scolded her, every ounce of courage disappearing. "Um... mum..." she began, only to receive a hard slap to her face.

"Shut up!" screamed Sonia with vitriol. "You are a thoroughly useless little girl! If only I'd known how trash you were, I would have sent you off to meet your true parents!"

Nino had expected to get beaten, as she so frequently did for failure. She would have even accepted it if Sonia killed her as punishment. However, Sonia's bile-filled revelation took her completely by surprise, and admittedly, had hurt more than any beating ever will. She would preferred if Sonia carried out her punishment like she normally. It was like she had just been hit by a tsunami. Jaws numbing, the only thing she could utter was a stunned "What?"

Sonia expression lifted as she watched Nino's expression. "Hmph, how much could the truth hurt now?" she spat. "Your true family was for generations was the most famed house of magic wielders in all of Lycia. They alone guarded the secret of dragons. Thirteen years ago, Lord Nergal and I stole that secret!"

Bam. Another giant wave had hit Nino's conscience, causing her to shake uncontrollably. "Hahaha!" Sonia continued. "No matter how wise they were, they were only human. I had held their child as a shield, and they were powerless to act! I used the child to force them to tell us everything they knew! Then, the father, the mother, and the child, were all slaughtered by my very hands!"

Nino did not know how much more she could take, in the space of a minute, Sonia had already inflicted a thousand times, no ten thousand more pain than all the beatings and scoldings in her thirteen years under her care combined. Unable to keep her posture or voice straight, she could only mutter: "I'm not your daughter?"

Sonia spat on the floor. "How the hell can something as useless as you ever be worthy of something that I am a mother of?" she growled, hate and contempt spewing out of her like a fountain. "There were two children in the family, a boy and a girl. The mother fought so desperately to save one of them, since I already killed the other, ha! She held her daughter so tightly when I killed her! That girl, Nino, was you!"

"No!" The confirmation had finally come, the one truth that she had fought so desperately to deny had finally exposed itself, causing Nino to implode with despair. Falling to her knees, she could do nothing but weep bitterly, her body shaking violently as tears flowed like the orifices of the Water Temple. Seeing the little girl completely break down, Jaffar could only feel a stabbing pain in his own chest, as if Nino's anguish was like an infectious agent that had suddenly taken hold of him as well. Squatting down, he tried his best to try and comfort her while staring at Sonia with pure loathing.

Sonia watched Nino's distraught form with great amusement. "You were still a mewling little whelp, but we took you with us," she continued, feeding off Nino's pain. "Lord Nergal thought you might be useful, so he let you live. Had it been up to me, you would have rotted away then and there! I hated the very thought of it, but it was Lord Nergal's wish that I raised you as my daughter. We were so wrong about you! Stupid and useless beyond reason, an utter bag of shit! All you did was get in the way!"

Watching Nino's broken form with nothing but pity, Jaffar finally understood what went on in her mind when she refused to kill Prince Zephiel. Getting up, he pulled his dagger straight from its sheath and pointed it at Sonia. "So that's why you wanted her dead," he whispered angrily, feeling the justice ring in his voice. "You're inhuman. Your soul is black and devoid of warmth!"

"Oh?" Sonia let out a gasp of surprise. "I've never expected to hear something like that from you, Jaffar! Before, you killed without hesitation at Lord Nergal's command, what happened to the man feared by all, my Angel of Death?"

"Nino has given me purpose," Jaffar declared. "I am no longer Nergal's killing machine, but my own man! For Nino's sake, I will kill you, Sonia!" Turning to Nino, he ordered her: "Stay back, I will take care of this woman."

Sonia tilted her head back and laughed. "Stay back?" she sneered. "How rich, how noble! Shall I pass judgement on you, as the Black Fang does with traitors? I sentence you to death!" Pointing her finger at Jan, she shot another beam straight into the injured man's gut, waking him up and eliciting a loud scream as a hole was drilled in it.

"This is just the beginning! Here is what you'll both receive as your sentence!" Sonia declared sadistically. Without warning, she fired a few more beams at Jan, causing him to blackout from the pain again.

"Stop it!" Nino cried. Standing up and shaking, she had had enough. This woman that now stood in front of her, was nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing. Seeing Sonia torture one of her last remaining links to the Black Fang, the one place where she has ever found happiness, pushed her over the edge. Drawing on her power, she fired a bright red but intense bolt of pure energy at Sonia, catching her off guard and pushing her back at least ten metres.

"Nino?" Jaffar gasped as he watched her eyes stare Sonia down with pure hatred. Nino was feeling it too, and she was afraid. She had never felt hate for anyone, and now it was gripping her like a storm, causing her the water around her to swirl. However, she knew that this was not the time to feel fear of hate, especially not when the hate was now a way for her to unleash her power and break herself free. The monster in front of her taken everything she had held dear away, and she would pay it all back, with interest.

"Take Uncle Jan to Lord Eliwood and the others, Jaffar," she told him with a shaking voice. "Do it before I blow up with rage!" Jaffar stared at her new-found resolve with amazement and concern. Surely someone as pure and innocent as Nino engrossed with this much hate was not a good sign? 'Then again, no-one would have expected you to feel compassion, either,' a voice countered in his head. What should he do? If he left, she would probably die to Sonia before he came back. If he stayed, she could probably lose control and destroy everything.

"I want to stay with you, Nino," Jaffar said finally. "But I understand your grief. I'll come back as soon as possible. You are not allowed to die on me." Lifting Jan up with both hands, he quickly sprinted toward the exit.

"Do you think you can escape that easily?" Sonia laughed as she pointed her right arm in Jaffar's direction, ready to blast him to smithereens. However, she was surprised, once again, when a thick ball of pure energy hit her again.

"I've had enough with you!" Nino screamed in fury as she focussed more energy into her palms. "How many more innocents are you going to hurt?" Electricity crackling from her fingers, she just could not take the anger and grief in herself any more. "I..." she exhaled at the top of her lungs. "I... I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, SONIA!" Her declaration echoed off the walls as she fired another intense wave of energy at her adopted mother. However, this time, Sonia was prepared. Waving her hand, she dispelled the blast, albeit with difficulty. 'How did this little runt gain so much power?' she wondered. 'Or has Brendan injured me so much that I couldn't use my full power?' She was right that Brendan had hurt her enough that she could not unleash her power without feeling significant pain and exhaustion. While she was miles in front of Nino in terms of fighting ability, in terms of raw talent and power, she didn't eclipse her adopted daughter at all. Even though she had never taught Nino anything, the young girl had natural ability, which augmented her inner magical strength as she aged. Even though she knew next to no techniques, one would be hard pressed to take her blasts of pure energy head on. It was like the difference between using a sword with finesse and using it with brute strength. Ignoring the pain on her shoulder, Sonia sneered evilly.

"You're going to kill me?" she snorted incredulously. "Only a disgusting trash bag like you could ever be so naive! Do you really think you have the ability?"

Nino replied by unleashing a few blasts of fire at Sonia. "Maybe not, I don't know if I can beat you even with your injury or not," she retorted loudly. "However, there is one thing I _do_ know, and that is the fact that you and I cannot co-exist on this Earth!" As she finished speaking, she leapt from one platform to the next, continuing to draw on her hate to push more and more powerful blasts at the older woman. Sonia retaliated by firing her own ice magic at the girl, ones which were deflected. After about five minutes of trading fire, Nino was finally able to land a hard blow to Sonia's chest, causing her to scream shrilly in pain. Collecting herself quickly, she snarled with rage.

Clasping her chest with her free hand, she let out a long scream. "That actually hurt me..." she muttered. "THAT ACTUALLY HURT ME, YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH!" Leaping at her adopted daughter, she raised her hand and raised the water around Nino, encasing her in a spherical dome. A split second later, she sent electricity coursing through her fingers and straight at the watery dome she had encased Nino in.

Blood-churning screams filled the air as the watery dome collapsed in on Nino, electrocuting her. Hearing her screams allowed Sonia to calm down somewhat. Laughing maniacally, the evil woman amped up the power in her hands, sending more lightning to zap the poor girl. "Stupid little bitch, how _dare_ you hurt me?" she hissed angrily. She watched the little girl roll around in agony, laughing at her suffering.

Nino's mind almost exploded from the pain of being electrocuted. 'Mother, father,' she thought as she rolled around the floor. 'Your daughter is useless, I'm so sorry.' However, another voice popped into her head. It was her own voice, but loud and confident.

"You are better than this, Nino!" it called. "How can you face your parents in the afterlife if you die here? How will they be avenged? Fight back! That woman robbed you of your family, she robbed you of your friends! Remember all the pain she's caused, and make that your power!" Gritting her teeth, she focussed as much of her power into the centre of her body as possible. Pushing as hard as she can, the lightning streaming from Sonia's hands were slowly pushed back, allowing her to stand up. She focussed her power again, and launched another concentrated wave of energy at Sonia, this time taking her completely by surprise, flinging her across the room and slamming her against the back wall. Exhausted of all her energy, Nino could only collapse onto the ground, breathing heavily.

Getting up from where she was, Sonia's fury had shot through the roof. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, she slowly hobbled across toward Nino's lying form, gathering her power as she did so.

"You little slut... how dare you... how dare you!" she rambled hoarsely. "How dare you do this to me, the perfect specimen!" Raising her hand, she was about to fire the finishing blast at the little girl before a foot made contact with her face, kicking her away. Jaffar had returned.

"Rotten woman... you will not hurt Nino," he growled. "Nino, are you okay?" While Nino had collapsed on the floor, she was still conscious, only lacking the energy get up. "How's Uncle Jan?" she asked softly.

"He's safe," Jaffar replied. "Eliwood and the others are tending to them now. They are just outside, fighting with Sonia's reinforcements." Turning straight back to Sonia, he leapt at blinding speed at the older woman. While Sonia would have the edge if she were not injured, after taking Brendan and Nino's assaults had slowed her down considerably. Unable to defend herself, she quickly succumbed to a stab to the chest by Jaffar.

"The Fangs let none escape," Jaffar declared coldly before closing in for the final blow. However, just as he was about to follow through, Nino called out to him: "Wait, Jaffar! Don't kill her just yet!"

Turning around, Jaffar looked her in absolute incredulity. 'Don't kill her?' he wondered. 'Wasn't that what you were trying to do all this time?' Raising her arm, Nino requested quietly: "Can you please help me up Jaffar? I want to see what she has been reduced to." Curious on what she meant, Jaffar walked straight up to Nino and helped her into a sitting position.

"How do you feel, Sonia?" Nino whispered with clear exhaustion. "How does it feel to suffer?" Sonia replied by coughing up a large mouthful of blood. Turning to Jaffar, Nino continued: "Jaffar, she's not long for this world. I think her pride would be destroyed by what has happened today. Let her live her last few moments in humiliation, okay?" With this, she used up all her remaining energy and fainted in his arms.

"You... bitch! How dare you!" Sonia growled with gritted teeth. Try as she might, she could not move an inch closer to the unconscious girl. Picking Nino up, Jaffar stared at Sonia with utter contempt.

"Disgraceful woman..." he snorted. "Be thankful Nino has allowed you live this extra bit longer. If it were up to me, you would be suffering in hell right now." Spitting in her face, he turned around and walked out of the Water Temple, leaving Sonia suffer her last moments alone.

Not long after Jaffar and Nino left, Limstella returned from sending Brendan's quintessence to Nergal.

"Leave me... alone... you accursed puppet..." Sonia spat. "Lord Nergal... help me..." Seeing Sonia's pitiful form crawling around on the floor, Limstella could shake her head in an artificial emotion that was closest to what humans called contempt.

"You are no longer of any use to Lord Nergal," she declared. "Puppets have no essence to harvest."

The words that came out of Limstella's mouth, the words that were said with no emotion whatsoever, cut Sonia deeper than any blast or blade that Nino and Jaffar used against her. "What did you say?" she screamed hoarsely. "I am a human, the perfect being! What do you mean?"

Turning her back on Sonia, Limstella replied coldly: "Think about the rest for yourself," before disappearing. "Wait!" Sonia called, tears of frustration and humiliation finally welled up as she breathed her last.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15: Destiny at the Shrine of Seals_

Jaffar brought the sleeping Nino out of the Water Temple only to see Eliwood and the others clearing away the last remaining Black Fang reinforcements.

"Is Nino okay?" Lyn asked with concern. Staring at her in his usual cold expression, Jaffar only replied quietly: "She's exerted all of her strength. Get her a healer if you can." After about an hour of hard work, Pent, Serra and Priscilla had finished treating both Jan and Nino, bringing them back to a healthy, but still painful state.

"My dear little Nino..." Jan sighed mournfully at Nino's woozy state. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even fight. I... I'm just a cowardly old man. When that woman killed the commander, there was absolutely nothing I could do..."

Everything that had transpired that night suddenly smashed Nino like a ton of bricks, jolting her awake immediately. The revelation of her past, the battle with Sonia, everything flashed in her mind like a movie. Now, without the roaring flame of hate raging in her heart, there was nothing that held her shock and grief in check, and without warning, she burst into painful tears into her adopted uncle's lap. If her mind was a village, then it was one that just had an army kill, pillage and burn its way through it, leaving a nothing but a smoking ruin. Why did it have to end up the way it did?

"Father is dead, isn't he?" Nino sobbed. "Why has everything been taken away from me? Even though I wasn't his real daughter, he treated me so kindly, while on the other hand, my mother, no Sonia..." She could not go on, unable to take the anguish that the name itself had conjured.

Jan could only exhale in understanding. "You found out the truth?" he whispered, only to see her nod, each action seeming to cost her three times more energy than normal. "I'm so sorry..." Holding her tight, he started rocking just like a father would do for his daughter. "It's better to just let it all out, Nino, you'll feel better afterward," he told her kindly.

After three minutes of solid grieving, Nino began to feel better. From his pocket, Jan pulled out a reasonably large silver pendant, which on the inside, had a small drawing of her real family and all their names.

"I think it's time I returned this to you, lass," he said tenderly as he handed it to her. "It belonged to your real mother. The commander never fully trusted Sonia, so he had a few of his agents and I investigate her past. We uncovered so much. He was able to able to speak with a woman who used to work in your house. She wept with joy when he told her about you, and asked that she be give this."

Taking the pendant with both hands, Nino turned it around and marvelled it with reverence. Everyone that she loved was gone, and this was the only thing left that reminded her of them. "I loved the Black Fang," she sighed. "I don't think I had ever known more happiness than in the year that I spent with them. My father and brothers... they made it all worthwhile. Everyone was so kind, I thought of them like my family... but those two monsters Nergal and Sonia just had to ruin everything."

Jan nodded reminiscently. "Mmm... that was a good time..." he remembered. "You're going, now, right? I know you wouldn't trust an old geezer like me to look after you, especially with what you've been through. Take care of yourself Nino, and be happy. If you don't deserve to be, then I don't know who does."

Nodding sadly at her imminent farewell but hopefully at what the future may bring, Nino shook hands with her stepuncle. "Thank you and goodbye, Uncle Jan," she said gratefully. "I'll cherish the pendant. I hope I can see you again, someday."

"Likewise, Nino," Jan farewelled. "I'll be here, waiting for whenever you want to return."

Getting up, Nino walked straight to where Eliwood and the others were waiting. "Have you said your farewells?" Lyn asked kindly.

"Of course!" Nino replied. While not completely back to her cheerful self, she nonetheless felt much better after being comforted by Jan. "Thank you for everything. You all came... and told me that you wanted to be friends, it made me so happy. Can I travel with you?"

Eliwood and Lyn both nodded without hesitation. "If that is what you like, then we would be happy to have you," he replied. "Will you come and help us?"

"Yeah!" Nino replied with a smile. "You're fighting against Nergal, aren't you? I'll do my best! Jaffar will as well!"

At the mention of the Angel of Death, Hector once again became as rigid as a board. "We should be getting back to camp," he said stiffly. "We have an early start tomorrow." Nodding in acknowledgement, Eliwood began directing his troops back toward where they had set up camp. Hector however, was more inclined to wait. Holding out his arm, he pulled Jaffar aside, well out of his friends' earshots.

"I don't know how you feel about all this, but I want you to know that I don't trust you," he got straight to the point with the Angel of Death. "I don't want to lie to you, but every time I see your face, I want to smash it to pieces. I'll never forgive you for what you have done to our friends."

Jaffar could only stare at the young lord's feet, knowing that it was not wise to argue. "I'm not like the others, especially not Eliwood," Hector continued. "He is softhearted to a fault. He believes this crap you're putting on, but if he says you're one of us, then that's that. I've only got one thing to say. Under no circumstances, will you betray my friend. If you do anything remotely suspicious, for any reason whatsoever, I will cut you down where you stand. Make sure you remember that." Turning around, he stomped off, leaving Jaffar to dwell on his warning alone.

o0o

Eliwood and his friends marched straight toward the Shrine of Seals the very next day. True to Queen Hellene's word, they met no disruptions from the Bern Royal Army, each soldier they met turning a blind eye. Pulling out the Heaven Seal that the queen had handed to him, Eliwood tried to use it again, but with no success. Instead, he handed it to Hector.

Without warning, the seal flashed like it did for Lyn, and within ten seconds, it had been completely absorbed by the blue haired lord. With a yelp of surprise, Hector could not believe how much strength he had suddenly gained. Picking up his axe, he slashed it at the ground, making a one metre deep gash in it. Eliwood could only watch his friend get his power-up in envy. Why wouldn't the Heaven Seals work for him? Why couldn't they find him worthy?

After about two days of travel, stopping only for meals and sleep, they found themselves staring at another huge and majestic structure protruding from the side of the mountain. Its walls were paved with the finest of white granite, while the mountain on the side supported it from the wind, rain, and even earthquakes. For a thousand years the Shrine of Seals had stood, for a thousand years it has been left undisturbed. Hartmut, the first king of Bern, had decreed that no-one were to access the Divine Weapons after the Scouring due to their great power. At the entrance of the Shrine was a giant model of the Sword of Seals, another, more powerful weapon that Hartmut had used in the Scouring. While Eliwood and the others believed that they were heading toward the Shrine unimpeded, a tall and rather elegant swordmaster with hate-filled eyes stood at the altar of the shrine.

"I have been waiting..." Lloyd the White Wolf spoke clearly and coldly as he stared at Eliwood's group approaching. "At last, the time to bring you down is here... the Fangs let none escape!" After the fateful day in Deggendorf, Lloyd had gathered up his group of loyal Black Fang assassins and prepared their next move. Unlike Linus, he would not be caught unaware, ever.

"Lord Lloyd, our enemy approaches," an assassin informed him from the side. Lloyd nodded in acknowledgement. After ten days of biding his time, he also found out that the lordlings had infiltrated their base and that his father fell to Sonia's hand at the Water Temple and Nino was presumed missing. Although he knew that Eliwood and his friends were not entirely responsible for destroying his family, he did not care any more. Linus had fallen by their hands, and that was that. His informants in the capital had told him that lordlings were bound for the Shrine of Seals, so he decided the Black Fang's last stand was to be right there.

"So they're finally here," he sighed pensively. Turning to the mass of approximately one hundred Black Fang assassins loyal to him, he warned them: "Our opponents are strong, if anyone here is afraid to die, then you are free to leave right now."

"The Reed Brothers' Fang do not fear death!" called one of his men indignantly.

"We are all with you!" declared another. "Lord Lloyd, you must do us the honour of leading us until the very end! The Black Fang is righteousness, the Black Fang is justice, the Black Fang is honour!" With this, every one the remaining Black Fang cheered their approval, fists banging against their chests. "Haroo!"

Grateful to his men, Lloyd pointed his sword toward the enemy with passion. "I shall," he proclaimed. "We will stop them even if it costs us our lives. Justice will be done, in the Black Fang's honour, in Linus' honour! Go!" With this, the last of the Black Fang charged toward their enemy.

o0o

Eliwood and his friends stared at the Shrine of Seals in awe. While the Dragon's Gate was impressive due to its sheer size, the Shrine of Seals seemed perfect in every way. Its pure white granite almost shone in the sunlight.

"Interesting," Hector mused to himself. "We haven't met a soul on our way here, looks like Queen Hellene was true to her word..."

"I'm afraid that's no longer the case!" Lyn snapped as she spotted about a hundred assassins charge out from the walls of the Shrine, weapons raised and ready for blood. One assassin ran straight up to Eliwood and pointed his sword at him.

"You are Lord Eliwood of Pherae, correct?" he called. "We are the Fang, and we serve the White Wolf, Lloyd! You will atone for your sins with blood!" With this, he immediately leapt at the young lord, only to cut down by Hector and Lyn immediately.

"They're alive!" Nino exclaimed with relief on the side. "I must tell them to stop fighting!" She was about to run into the battle before Jaffar pulled her back.

"Their battle lust is not normal," he warned her. "If you get too close, they'll just tear you apart!"

Nino shook her head. "We don't have to fight!" she argued. "If we talk to them, they'll see!"

"We are no longer Fangs!" Jaffar retorted. "We served Nergal, not Brendan Reed. We were never Fangs or comrades to them! They won't recognise you!" However, she proved stronger than he expected and pulled out of his grip.

"That's not true!" she replied stubbornly. "That man mentioned Lloyd! Lloyd must be here, I need to talk to him! He will understand! He's my brother, Jaffar, I can't just fight him like this!" Pulling free, she weaved in and out of the Black Fang assassins and ran toward the Shrine as fast as she could, Jaffar following her as closely as possible.

The battle got under way almost immediately. Eliwood, Hector and Lyn both got into their usual battle formations, while the opposing assassins did likewise. Raising his axe, Hector showed whoever got in his way why no-one messes with him after the boost from the Heaven Seal. Anyone who met with his axe were split cleanly in two down the middle. After half an hour of intense fighting, both sides had sustained heavy casualties, although Eliwood's side did not suffer any fatalities. Raven got a rather painful look gush in his thigh, while Geitz lost three teeth after a being hit by a valkyrie's thunder magic. Merlinus yelped in terror after he was surrounded by hate-filled Black Fang assassins, only escaping with his life after Pent, Louise and Erk warded them away. In amidst the commotion, a proud and tall wyvern rider wearing the uniform of Bern royal military scoured the area.

"Look at them..." Vaida scowled as she watched the battle from a high mountain peak. "Those little Lycian nobles, they think they're so tough. I'd love to take them on, but Prince Zephiel insists that it was them who saved him. What the hell has this world come to?" Ordering her wyvern to kick off the ground, she flew around the the battlefield, looking for Eliwood and his friends, and after about two minutes of searching, she found them fighting a group of five Black Fang assassins in their usual formation. Picking up her spear, Vaida quickly stabbed it into the face of an assassin, distracting them long enough for Eliwood, Lyn and Hector to quickly mop up the rest of them.

"We meet again, boy!" Vaida called. "Have you and your little playmates been well?"

"You're that wyvern rider!" Eliwood noted, not lowering his weapon. How could he forget that he had almost died at her hand? "You're a Black Fang member, aren't you? We won't go easy on you!"

"Hold on!" Vaida held up her hands to signal that she was surrendering to them. "You're wrong here. I only serve one master and one master only, and that is the throne of Bern! I'm here on my own personal agenda. Tell me, boy, are you the one who stopped Prince Zephiel's assassination?"

Eliwood almost dropped his weapon in surprise. "Judging by your look, it's true, isn't it?" Vaida snorted. "That settles it. From now on, I will fight for you." This surprised even the lordlings even more. Didn't she almost fight them to the death just about a week ago? How did she have such a change of heart?

"You saved Prince Zephiel," she explained. "So, I owe you for that. I serve only Bern. Prince Zephiel is our future and the hope of our nation. You saved him when he needed saving, and for that, I will fight alongside you."

Not exactly wanting to trust her, but understanding why she would help them, Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement. "I see," he told her. "I take you at your word, then." Satisfied with his response, Vaida quickly ordered her wyvern to kick off again, immediately using her spear to fell down Black Fang assassins one by one.

While Eliwood and his friends were busy with the rest of the Black Fang, Nino was frantically rushing up the side of the Shrine, looking for her stepbrother, Lloyd. Not caring about the rest of the Black Fang, she found herself in hot water quite a few times, only to be saved by Jaffar. After stepping around a large pillar, she finally found him. Standing tall, proud, yet distant, was the White Wolf, Lloyd.

"Lloyd!" she called. "Listen to me, please! This is all a big mistake-" She was cut off when he turned around immediately and hacked his sword down at her.

"My sword won't miss a second time, Nino," he warned her, eyes filled with determined fire. "We are enemies now, and I will show you no mercy."

"But Lord Eliwood is not a bad man!" Nino argued. "Why are you fighting knowing that? They saved my life, and gave me a future! Why don't you come with us?"

Lloyd sighed sadly. "Then that is why you should treasure the life that they have given you," he said resolutely. Seeing his stepsister slowly dissolve into tears, his expression softened slightly.

"Don't cry Nino," he smiled mirthlessly. "You must live for the future, but I am bound to this course. I will stay with the Fang until the end. Kill me now, and don't look back!"

"No!" Nino yelled in despair. "I don't want to! You and Linus... and father... are the only ones who have treated me well! How can I ever have the heart... to... kill you?" She was answered when Lloyd leapt at her and brought down his blade with a roar, all restraints released. Frozen in horror, she could only watch as the blade descended in slow motion, preparing for death.

Ding! Another blade crossed into the descending sword's path just in time to stop it butchering Nino into two clean halves. "The 'Angel of Death'..." Lloyd mused as he pulled his sword back. "Since the day I met you, I've always wondered... if we met in a one-on-one combat, which one of us would win?" Jaffar could only keep his blade leveled Lloyd, not daring to lower it.

"I think it's time that question was answered!" Lloyd declared as he leapt at Jaffar with blinding speed, sword criss-crossing like bursts of light. Jaffar defended by bringing his own blade forward. Fuelled by suicidal rage and despair, the White Wolf attacked with everything he had, while Jaffar could only defend frantically. Opportunities to counter were few and far between, and he made the most of them, only to have his attacks nullified quickly. After three hundred exchanges, there was no way of telling which one the winner would be. At that time, Eliwood, Hector had Lyn had stepped into the Shrine after defeating the assassins that got in their way. The rest of their fighters were still engaging the enemy.

"Nino, are you alright?" Eliwood asked after walking straight up to the sobbing girl. Slumped against the wall and eyes staring into blank space, she only answered when Lloyd landed a hard kick on Jaffar's chest, followed by leaping straight at Eliwood, his blade coming down as fast as he could bring. "Lord Eliwood, watch out!" she warned.

Eliwood moved out of the way just in time. "We meet at last, Eliwood," Lloyd hissed with a clenched jaw. "My name is Lloyd, the son of Brendan Reed. My brother, Linus, died at your hand. Down in the pits of hell, he longs for you to join him. Prepare to die."

Lifting his own sword, he struggled to repel against the White Wolf's attacks, backing away quickly. "Wait!" he pleaded frantically. "Let's talk about this, we didn't kill your brother!"

"I believe you did, and that is all I need," Lloyd snorted stubbornly. Seeing their friend in trouble, Lyn and Hector both closed in on the aggressor, taking pressure off Eliwood and allowing his to retreat safely. After catching his breath, Eliwood re-entered the formation and resumed the battle. Even with Lyn and Hector receiving their Heaven Seal boosts, they could not even touch Lloyd, who seemed to be everywhere. Spinning and moving around like a tornado, fighting Lloyd was like fighting against a storm. He did not even need to defend, as Lyn and Hector's attacks would hit thin air every time, once their weapons would come down, he would already be attacking the next member of their formation. After five hundred or so exchanges, the battle was still far from over.

On the side, Nino and Jaffar watched the White Wolf battle the lordlings with mixed emotions. On one hand, Jaffar was secretly impressed. Just about a month ago, they had clearly been no match for him at the Dragon's Gate. He could have killed them without even raising a sweat. Now, even though it was three on one, they were fighting evenly with the most powerful member of the Four Fangs, one who was arguably better than himself. On the hand, Nino's heart was thumping against her chest, trying desperately to free itself from the horror unfolding in front of her. Turning from Lloyd to the lordlings and back again, she simply could not comprehend the possibility of losing either of them. One was her stepbrother, as close to her as a blood brother would have been, one who had comforted in times of despair. He had cared for her, protected her and even played with her, knowing full well that she was supposed to be the daughter of a woman that he hated. He, Linus and Brendan were the first ones she had ever felt love that family member would give. However, the others were her saviours and her friends. They had promised her that they would be there for her and would always be her friend. It was also with them that she could see a brighter future, one which would allow her to throw her miserable past behind.

"You must live for the future," Lloyd had told her just minutes ago. "Kill me and don't look back." Balling her little fists and tearing her heart in two, she decided what she must do.

After another hundred exchanges, both the lordlings and Lloyd were beginning to tire. Sweat soaked the clothes as their faces burned bright red. Pausing slightly for a couple of seconds, the four fighters panted to catch their breath before resuming their battle in earnest. It was only after a few more minutes when a small blast of fire magic would hit Lloyd squarely in the back, knocking him off balance.

"I'm so sorry, my brother Lloyd..." Nino murmurred with closed eyes. While her attack was not enough to hurt him in any way, in the kill-or-be-killed mentality of battle, the one who lost the slightest bit of concentration would die horribly, and that was exactly what had happened. While Nino had hoped that she caught catch Lloyd off guard so the lordlings could possibly disarm and capture him without killing him, it was enough to push him straight into the path of Lyn's sword, impaling him in the chest. A fraction of a second later, Eliwood's sword pierced him in the stomach while Hector's axe came down on his sword hand, chopping it off immediately. Spewing up a mouthful of blood, Lloyd collapsed onto the ground with final thud as the lordlings pulled out their weapons.

"Linus..." he whispered with acceptance as the life was drained from him. "You need wait no more... I'm coming for you." While Nino had known that her move was risky and accepted the fact that it may just cause the death of her stepbrother, seeing his corpse on the ground and his dismembered hand laying straight in front her made her heart snap for the second time in just a three days. Running up to Lloyd's body, she could only let out a scream of anguish as she realised she had truly lost everyone dear to her. She embraced his rapidly cooling body as tightly as she could and bawled straight into his chest.

"I'm sorry, Nino," Eliwood sighed as he patted her on the back supportingly. Knowing that Lloyd was one of the Four Fangs and the most honourable of them, he could not help but feel shaken to the core. While every other Black Fang member he had killed had offended him in some way, or was just simply followed orders to kill him because he was their enemy, he felt no enmity with the White Wolf. Having to bring his sword down on someone he very much respected pumped guilt and horror into his conscience.

"Don't apologise, Lord Eliwood, it's not your fault," Nino choked. Turning back to her dead brother, she continued weeping into Lloyd's chest. "Why did it have to come to this, Lloyd? Why did we have to fight? I just don't understand!" Eliwood and the others did not understand why they had to go through that massacre when they could have peacefully negotiated, had Lloyd given them the chance to. However, he was interrupted from his guilty reflection when a tall, old man with a long gray beard appeared out of thin air, causing all three of the lordlings to leap in surprise. It was Archsage Athos.

"Lord Athos?" Lyn gasped in shock. "When... when did you arrive?"

Athos shrugged with amusement. "Just now," he answered. "By the looks of looks of pleasant surprise, you must not have known I could warp around the place. Well, guess what, you learn something new every day. I've been watching you from my little crystal ball. The most important thing is the fact that you've made it here."

Hector crossed his arms and frowned in annoyance. "If that's the case, Graybeard," he retorted irritably. "Then why didn't you just use magic to warp us here in the first place?"

"And what would that have proven?" Athos countered wisely. "You cannot hope to succeed in your endeavours if you cannot trust your own strength, nor can you do it if you rely on the power of others. You must drive your own power. Your little trip here was out of your own desire, not mine. Do you understand?" Seeing Hector nod, albeit unconvincingly, Athos motioned his hand and directed them into the Shrine.

"Shall we proceed, Children of Roland?" he invited. "We will now go underground into the Shrine, where Bramimond awaits us. Out of the Eight Legends, only Bramimond and myself are still alive. I'm afraid that your little journey here has only been a bit of test. I needed to see whether you were worthy of wielding the Divine Weapons. After this, is where your trials and tribulations will truly begin."

Eliwood and the others looked at each other in trepidation. While they knew Athos was more powerful than they could even imagine and therefore everything seemed like child's play to him, this did not make their troubles over the past month any less real or frightening. Eliwood had originally thought when they got to the Shrine of Seals, the endgame would begin and soon they would be free from the mess that Nergal had piled on them. How very, very wrong he was.

"The Divine Weapons are weapons that we, the Eight Legends, used to defeat the dragons," Athos explained carefully. "With them, you should be able to sever Nergal's power at its roots. They are scattered all around Elibe, sealed away in secret dungeons. The only one capable removing those seals is Bramimond. Hopefully, he will listen to us and grant us this request."

'Hopefully?' Eliwood thought as he followed the bearded man into the depths of the Shrine. 'You mean we might end up empty-handed after everything we've been through?' He didn't have time to ponder any further before they stepped into the darkness of the Shrine, without a single light source available.

"Who are you?" a cold, raspy voice pierced the chamber, causing all four of them to jump. "Why are you here?"

"Are you Bramimond?" Eliwood asked.

"I suppose that is me," Bramimond replied with a voice of indifference. "What do want from me?"

Turning to meet the source of the sound, Lyn requested clearly: "We have a favour to ask you, and I hope you can grant it. We need weapons to defeat a dark sorceror called..." She was cut off when Bramimond snorted loudly.

"That is unfortunate," he said clearly, in exactly the same tone as Lyn. "I cannot grant what you seek. Humanity would suffer if I were to release the seals."

His casual remark almost punched Eliwood's lights out. So everything was just a waste? No, he had to keep trying. Before he could utter a word, however, Hector burst out angrily: "What do you mean by that? Don't you know that humanity would suffer if you didn't release them? The entire world is about to be destroyed as it is!"

His warning seemed to do nothing to persuade the mysterious druid, instead, it only made Bramimond respond in a voice of aggression, exactly the same way Hector had reprimanded him. "The entire world?" he retorted. "Why should I care? It can burn for all I care!"

Eliwood and Hector looked at each other in confusion and amazement. This hooded figure in front of them was supposed to be one of the legendary warriors who had defeated dragons a thousand years ago, not this mirror that reflected all of their emotions and personalities. With Lyn, he showed stubborness, with Hector, he showed aggression.

"Bramimond has no self," Athos explained after seeing their confusion. After a while in dark, their eyes had begun to adjust. "He, she, it, is a mirror who reflects the person addressing it. Bramimond projects no personality of his own, and there are as many Bramimonds as people facing him. Do you remember who I am, Bramimond?"

Bramimond nodded in recognition. "Athos, is it?" he acknowledged with amusement. "It has been a long time. I have no idea why you have brought these children here. Do you remember what Hartmut had decreed? Have you forgotten why he ordered those weapons to be sealed away? They are not meant for the frail hands of a human."

"But we are also human, Bramimond," Athos countered. "These children I have brought here, will not be seduced by power. They came here without my aid, using their own abilities. You saw this yourself, didn't you?"

Bramimond shrugged in response. "I guess you're right about that," he admitted. "They do seem stronger than most. However, humans are frail. What guarantee do I have, that they will not succumb to their weakness, Athos? If you can give me that, then I can release the seals whenever you wish me to."

Eliwood had been listening on the side, trying to think of a way to persuade the enigmatic dark magician. "A guarantee?" he blurted out without any idea of what to say. "We can't guarantee you anything. We simply ask that you believe in us." He was pleasantly surprised when he suddenly saw Bramimond turn around and raise his hands to the altar, and then sending a dark magic pulse at it, causing to flash brightly.

"There was once a man very much like you, boy," he sighed. "His gaze was always fixed ahead, and it never wandered. The seals have been released, you may do as you please. Please leave me now, I'm tired and I want my rest."

Satisfied with the result, they left the chamber.

o0o

"Bramimond is certainly a mysterious figure..." Lyn mused as they stepped back outside, sunlight partially blinding them after their trip into the Shrine. "I wonder what convinced him to release the seals..."

"That is an interesting question," Athos noted. "Knowing Bramimond, I doubt anything would have convinced him unless it was a totally impenetrable darkness, the nature of which is incomprehensible by normal men." Seeing the lordlings confusion, he waved his hand to signal to not worry about it. "We must hurry," he told them with a sense of urgency. "Nergal would surely have sensed that the seals have been released already. We need to go and get the Blazing Sword as soon as possible..." He was unable to finish when a cold snicker pierced through the air.

"What a pity, you are too late!" A fraction of a second later, Nergal had materialised about fifteen metres in front of them, right next to where Nils and Ninian stood, terrified.

"My power has at last been restored..." he announced in a low but chilling voice. "Ninian, Nils, shall we continue where we left off? Come with me and open the Dragon's Gate for me."

Holding onto her brother tightly, Ninian backed away from the evil one slowly. "We will never come with you!" she declared. Nergal was response was to pull his back and laugh hysterically. "Would you like to see my powers here and now?" he warned. "You may choose, Ninian!"

Eliwood had not expected to be facing Nergal again so soon, but now that the dark magician had shown himself, his anger and resentment for the man bubbled past the surface. Pulling out his sword, he walked straight forward.

"You two mustn't follow him!" he told the pair as he advanced on Nergal. "Go now, I got a few scores to settle with him myself!" Ninian could only watch in horror as Nergal snorted, turned around and fired a powerful blast of dark magic at the young lord, knocking him off his feet immediately. Eliwood could only feel himself landing on his right arm, the resulting impulse causing his elbow to twist, causing him let out a scream of pain.

"Such a fool..." Nergal spat in contempt as he advanced on the injured red-head. Seeing their friend get hurt by the dark magician, Hector and Lyn both drew their weapons and attacked Nergal, only to be thrown back by an unseen barrier.

"Hmhmhmhm..." Nergal snickered stepped on Eliwood's chest, causing him to let out fresh howls of pain. "I still cannot believe how a weak scum like you have been able to interfere with so many of my plans. You and your father are both like cockroaches. Your father's foolish moves set me back a long way... since he is dead, I'll torture and kill you, the next best thing!" With this, he pulled his head back and laughed, all the while firing bursts of dark magic into the young lord, making him feel as if he was on fire.

Ninian watched from the side in sheer, unalterated terror. Every blast, every attack Nergal through at Eliwood all seemed like lightning bolting from the sky. Every holler of pain that Eliwood let out made her want to scream out in pain as well. Tears built up in her eyes before she just could not take it any more. "Stop it!" she called.

Turning around, Nergal raised his eyebrow at the young dancer. "Let him go," she told him, voice shaking uncontrollably. "I will come with you. Leave Lord Eliwood and Nils alone. If I follow what you say, then will you let my brother go?"

Nergal smiled with satisfaction. "So you've finally come to your senses, Ninian?" he sneered. "That's good, I only need one of you. If you agree to open the Dragon's Gate for me, there will be no need for your brother to be involved. Only one of you is sufficient."

"No, Ninian, you can't!" Nils and Eliwood called simultaneously. Nils was especially distressed. "If you help him open the Dragon's Gate, everything would be for nothing!" he warned her. Ninian, however, could only gaze at them hopelessly. One was her brother, the other was the one she cherished the most. There was no way she would give up against Nergal without a fight, but there was no way that she would just watch the two of them get tortured and killed in front of her, either. 'I have no intention of helping him, Nils,' she tried to tell him telepathically, although she knew there was no way he would get the message. 'I hope Lord Athos is right about the Divine Weapon, so hopefully I can buy them enough time so they can arm themselves against Nergal.' Walking up to Nils, she could only give him a hopeless look.

"Nils, Lord Eliwood has saved us so many times," she told him sadly. "You must look after him, do you understand me?" Grabbing his hands, she pushed all of her power into her brother's body. Bringing her lips close to his ears, she whispered: "I will not help him, Nils, be assured that even however he forces me, I won't bring calamity to this world. I would rather die." Pushing her brother away, she took one last look at Eliwood before walking back toward her captor. "I'm sorry, Lord Eliwood," she mumbled.

"Ninian, you mustn't go!" Eliwood winced. Pulling himself up, he tried to grab his sword, but was held back by the pain in his arm.

"Hmhmhmhm..." Nergal snickered. "You fools will live today, as the gate will open and I will gain the power of a dragon!" Raising his hand high into the air, he quickly drew his power, lightning crackling around his outstretched hand.

"Get down, you two!" Athos called as he rushed forward toward Nils and Eliwood and drawing up a magical barrier as Nergal brought hand down. The ground shook, a bright light flashed as a loud bang was heard, and everything went black.

Eliwood found himself stirring around in warm, cosy bed. Vision still foggy, he rolled around before finally sensing his surroundings.

"Are you okay, Eliwood?" a familiar voice called. Trying to remember how he got there, he turned around and saw Hector looking at him with a concerned expression.

"Where... where am I?"

"You're back at camp," Hector told him. "You and Nils were both knocked unconscious by Nergal's little gift, remember?"

Nergal. Ninian. Her mournful expression before leaving. Her apology for leaving. Everything flashed back at him, causing him to be fully aware of his surroundings. Every flash seemed to pierce his heart like a dagger. "If Lord Athos had not erected his protective barrier when he did, we would have lost both you and Nils..." Lyn lamented.

"If Nergal truly wished it, not even I would have been able to save you," Athos commented from Eliwood's right side. He had been busy tending to the young lord's twisted right arm, and while it still hurt, it was pretty much fixed now.

"How long have I been out?" Eliwood asked quietly, voice shaking with anxiety. Every second they were waiting here was potentially every second that Ninian was suffering! The situation only worsened when Hector told him: "Thirty hours." Thirty hours, thirty long hours! Nergal was most likely already on the Dread Isle already, and he could not imagine what kind of horrors Ninian may be subjected to. He immediately jumped out of the bed, mind in total chaos. It was only until Athos rushed forward and restrained him that he was prevented from sprinting straight out of the camp.

"Eliwood, you have to listen to me," he began urgently. "You need to calm down!"

"How can I calm down?" Eliwood retorted hysterically. "To protect us, Ninian, she..." He found himself unable to continue and broke down onto the floor hopelessly.

"Even if you could catch him, you'll just be another victim!" Athos warned him. "Your skills are nothing but a speck of dust compared to him. If you truly wish to save that girl Ninian, you must seek out the power in the Divine Weapon to topple Nergal! Do you understand me?"

Taking a few deep breaths, Eliwood slowly absorbed the wise Archsage's words, realising that there was nothing he could say to argue with them. Collecting himself, he sighed in acknowledgement. "I understand, I apologise for losing myself like that. I know what I must do now."

"We all lose ourselves at the worst of times," Athos shrugged. "Very well, Eliwood, I want to give you something." Putting his hand deep into his pocket, he pulled out the third and final Heaven Seal, and gave it to the red-haired lordling. Eliwood shook his head and pushed away politely.

"I'm sorry, Lord Athos, these seals don't find me worthy," he told the Archsage. Athos, however, did not seemed too concerned.

"Trust me," he implored. "Take it and hold it in your hands." Eliwood did as he was told, and to his great surprise, the seal immediately begun to glow as it did for Lyn and Hector.

"Whoa, it's...!" Eliwood did not even finish saying what he wanted to say before the seal was absorbed into his chest. Power and euphoria radiating from every vessel in his body.

"This is incredible..." he exhaled in awe. "My body... this is power beyond words!"

"You see? It finds you suitable," Athos smiled. Getting straight to business, he told Eliwood: "You must go to Ostia and take possession of Roland's Blazing Sword. If we go at full speed now, we should be able to make it within two days." Eliwood turned around and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I understand, we have to go and get that weapon," he concurred with marked resolve. "We have to defeat Nergal, for the sake of Ninian and this world!"


	16. Chapter 16

Notes: Hello to everyone reading this story, I appreciate your attention! I'm liking the reviews I'm getting so far, and I hope that I can please as many readers as possible!

We're getting to the final 5 chapters here. I've actually already written it (it was the first five chapters that I wrote, actually), so I'm basically going to read over it slightly and make some finishing touches.

The heavy stuff starts now! Happy reading.

o0o

o0o

o0o

**_Chapter 16: The Song of Roland is One of Melancholy_**

Nergal immediately took Ninian to the entrance of Dragon's Gate. His handling was surprisingly delicate, but one could not mistaken the intent behind it. He gently kneeled Ninian in front of the altar.

"Now, my sweet Ninian, this time, you will open the Dragon's Gate," he ordered as he shoved a small, blue stone into her hands. Ninian kneeled perfectly still, a look of defiance in her eyes. Nergal however, was not angry. Smiling, he started pacing around her.

"You really want to resist me to the very end, don't you? Do you really think that I don't know that the only reason you offered to come with me is to delay your friends' deaths? You never had any intention of offering your aid freely, did you?" he continued. "Hmph, you cannot help them. In the end, they will only be a speck of dust to what I will become. They will only die if they resist me. In fact, the longer you resist me the shorter they will live." Ninian remained silent, refusing to move or even speak. Her resentment for him spoke louder in silence than any tantrum ever could. Nergal stopped his pacing and stared directly into her eyes. Without warning, he raised him arms and directed it at her, invisible ropes appearing out of nowhere, binding her to a nearby pillar tightly. He proceeded to click his fingers, and at once, the ropes began to squeeze.

As the ropes began to to squeeze harder, Ninian tried her hardest not to scream as the pressure built up against her fragile body. Grunting in pain, she continued to stare down the dark druid boldly, unwilling to give him any satisfaction.

"Are you going to open the gate or not, Ninian?" Nergal hissed dangerously. Again, Ninian kept her silence and kept perfectly still, ignoring everything Nergal threw at her. 'He can talk or torture me for as long as he like, he's only giving more time for Lord Eliwood to gather the Divine Weapons and finish him,' she assured herself. The silence broke when Nergal sent a jolt of electricity into the ropes, causing her to let out a yelp of pain and surprise.

"Are you going to open the gate or not, Ninian?" he repeated, this time with more danger in his voice. Still recoiling from the last shock, Ninian shook slightly, but returned to her statue-like state, eyes fixed on Nergal with increasing animosity. Seeing that his attack had no effect, Nergal growled irritably, sending another, this time more intense bolt of electricity at the helpless girl, causing her let out a fresh scream of pain.

"Whether you wish to or not, it is all the same to me," Nergal snickered two days later as he paced around a barely conscious Ninian, who was shaking uncontrollably. Every time she refused, he would intensify his blast, until she lost conscious completely. Knowing that he had all the time in the world, he had simply decided to wait until she woke back up, and then continued his extortion with gusto. While he was enraged that she had only come with him to waste his time, Nergal had long learned the lesson of patience. He had set him into motion for centuries already, and he was not going to be rattled by a few extra days of failure.

"I will call forth a dragon and claim its quintessence and harness a power never before seen in this world, then I will be its master," he continued in his droning voice. "Ninian, don't you know? You are nothing but a tool to help me achieve that end." Using his long fingers, he propped up Ninian's semi-conscious head and shook his head. So she thought she could just buy time for her friends, did she? Who did she think he was?

"On the account of your friends, I hope you will change your mind," he changed his tone suddenly, to a seemingly kinder but still dangerous voice as he pulled away the ropes that bound her to the pillar. Ninian stumbled away slowly, still trying to regain her motor functions after two days of electrocution. "You see, you and I have a pact. I left your friends alive on the condition that you come with me to the Dragon's Gate and open it for me. If you renege on your promise, then I would have no choice but to renege mine..." Ninian's eyes sprung open, wide. Adrenaline rushed around her body, waking her up fully instantly. While she could take any physical torture without saying a word, Nergal's threat cut through her like a knife going through hot butter.

"I don't want to help you, I just don't want to do it. Just spare Lord Eliwood and his friends. You can torture me, kill me, whatever you want, just leave them alone!" she tried to say calmly, but the desperation behind her voice was clearly audible.

"You don't want to?" Nergal laughed. "That is the funniest joke I've heard in a while. My dear, I am not looking for your consent. I really don't need it. You see, the strong will always rule over the weak. I am strong and you are weak. I can easily just kill you and take your quintessence but real power is ability to command others do what you want. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if I couldn't even make you open the Dragon's Gate? You will bend before me, otherwise I will immediately return and kill your friends. I will torture them and have them begging me for death, especially your treasured Eliwood." Ninian knew that what Nergal was as good as his word. Tears slowly formed in her eyes as she knew her situation was hopeless. If she did not open the gate, Nergal would kill Eliwood and his friends, but if she did, she would single-handedly destroy everything they had hoped to achieve and they would probably die afterwards anyway. Unable to take Nergal's torture and jeers any more, she took out a dagger and drew it across her own neck.

"If you continue to force me, I will immediately slash my throat, leaving you empty-handed!" she cried. Nergal laughed as if nothing happened. Raising his hand, he slashed down with it like a sword and knocked the blade from her grasp, preventing her from carrying out her threat. As she tried picking it up again, it was gone. Once a silent and resolute girl, Ninian's mind was now completely shattered with her breathing turning into an erratic pattern while tears flowed freely down her face. Like her tears, all her grief and despair that she suffered for the past year surfaced like an erupting volcano. Without control over what she was doing, the blue stone in her hand glowed violently, causing her physique to start growing and her sanity decay exponentially until she was no longer human, physically nor mentally. Nergal watched this development with increasing amusement.

"At last, Ninian, your true form is liberated. Hahaha, where do you hope to run, you ugly beast?" he taunted. "You'll never be human so why do you try to be? Why do you care about your friends so much when you'll never be able to mingle with them? What do you think Eliwood would say if he saw your hideous form, Ninian? For something like you, there is never a place you could call home!"

o0o

Athos took Eliwood and his friends to a cave on the outskirts of Ostia. As they approached, they saw steam coming out of the various fissures on the sides. The cave entrance was about five metres above the ground, so they had to use their weapons to chisel some holes on the cliff face and climb up. After some climbing, Eliwood was able to enter the cave with Athos, Hector and Lyn. The stifling heat seemingly crushed them as they entered.

"I never imagined that there could be such a place in Lycia..." Eliwood murmured. He and Hector often left Ostia to go hunting, but he had never found this place and there was absolutely nothing that hinted it was there.

"The air is so hot here, it even hurts to breathe, like a fire suddenly started in your lungs," noted Lyn.

They walked further in and saw that they had entered what was a cave full of lava. Hector's jaw dropped: "Lord Athos, are those columns of flame over there? Why have we come here?"

Athos explained that after the Scouring, the hero Roland built an altar in the cave when Lycia was still one nation. Roland placed the Blazing Sword in the cave with various protections against evil-doers.

"The weapons that we, the Eight Generals wielded contained enormous strength. The power is fearsome enough to cut down dragons. Today, the power would not be as much as a thousand years ago." explained Athos. "No-one has stepped in this cave since Roland's death and his presence still fills the air. All that resides here projections of ancient soldiers who guard the sword. You will enter this place, Eliwood, and only you can approach the altar. This is your trial, prove to Roland that you are worthy of wielding Durandal. I will take Hector to the west to meet Durban the Berserker and retrieve the Armads the Thunder Axe." Eliwood was slightly frightened, but determined to stop Nergal and rescue Ninian. He bade goodbye to his best friend and Athos and walked deeper into the cave.

As Eliwood ventured through the cave, he was careful not to step on any lava, so he went rather slowly. After turning a corner, he was suddenly ambushed by an axe-wielding fighter. Gripping his sword tightly, Eliwood fell into a defensive stance and slowly warded him off, stabbing him in the chest when the opportunity arised. Unfortunately, this commotion alerted the rest of the cave to his presence. About a dozen soldiers surrounded him. 'I will not lose,' thought Eliwood. 'I will wield Durandal to defeat Nergal, at all costs. You soldiers are not my match one-on-one, if I can only break out of this circle, you are all going down.' Slowly, he defended against relentless attacks from the warriors and tried to break out of the formation. However, after about half an hour, he was still unable to escape. Tired from the fighting, he was starting to lose focus. More and more fatal blows came close to hitting, and he knew the situation was dire.

Suddenly, a sword flashed out from nowhere and struck down two of the soldiers. An arrow flew past his ear and struck another enemy.

"Didn't think we'd let you take them on by yourself, did you?" Lyn said with a smile. Next to her stood Rath.

"Lyndis, Rath! What are you-" stammered Eliwood with surprise and gratitude. With the formation broken, Eliwood was now able to go on the offensive and take out two extra fighters. Picking up a dropped lance, he threw it at another, killing him instantly. After about five minutes of intense fighting, Eliwood, Lyn and Rath had killed all the soldiers that had initially surrounded them.

"There isn't much further, I can see the altar," noted Eliwood. "Let's sit down for a little bit, then we'll continue." They sat down next to each other, ate some rations and drank some water. While he was fighting, Eliwood was distracted by the thrill of the battle, his heightened sympathetic nervous system and adrenaline levels. However, as he was resting, he could not help but feel the emptiness in his heart in which Ninian used to occupy. He shuddered as he imagined what Nergal had in store for her to force her to open the Dragon's Gate and could not help but let out a long sigh. In the past few days, he had barely found a few hours of sleep, every time he nodded off, dreams of Nergal and Ninian would jolt him straight back up. Unable to get back to sleep, he would pace around the camp in the middle of the night for hours on end until fatigue finally caught up with him, forcing him to lie down and fall asleep for a couple of hours only. The increased anxiety and lack of energy had even caused him to sprout a few white hairs at the back of his head. Lyn looked at him with deep concern in her eyes.

"Don't worry about Ninian," she assured him. "Nergal needs her to open the Dragon's Gate, there is no way he would injure her." Eliwood thought it made sense, but still could not stop worrying. Shaking with agitation and anxious to get the Blazing Sword, he stood back up and began moving towards the altar. As he reached within about five metres to the altar, the ground shook and the statue in front of the altar came to life. He was about two metres tall and full of muscle, holding a large axe.

"I am one of Sir Roland's warriors, Georg..." he grunted. "You trespass here, I will cut you down!" As he finished speaking, he raised the axe high over his head and slammed it down at Eliwood's head. Knowing the force from the axe was far too great to try and block, he scrambled out of the way. As the axe hit the ground, it made about a fissure about half a metre in depth in it. Eliwood was startled at the power generated by Georg. He immediately went on the offensive, but Georg was surprisingly fast and swung his axe around to try and knock Eliwood off his feet, forcing him to retreat and duck for cover. After about a few minutes, Eliwood decided to feint a stab to Georg's left and quickly rolled to his right, stabbing him in the right chest. Letting out loud howl, Georg grabbed Eliwood by the hair and tried to throw him into the lava pool, but was stopped when an arrow hit him in the arm, causing him to drop Eliwood.

"No, Rath!" yelled Eliwood. "I'm supposed to defeat him on my own, I've got this under control." Enraged, Georg moved faster than ever, but with the extra boost from the Heaven Seal, Eliwood was always one step ahead, weaving in and out of his attacks until he found an opening and pierced Georg's heart. Dropping his axe, Georg was both in admiration and surprise.

"I don't understand..." he murmured on his dying breath. "You seem... so... familiar... who are you? You and Sir Roland... are as one..." He died after he said this. As Eliwood saw the large warrior fall, he could not help feeling shaken. Georg's loyalty to Roland was no less than his friends were to himself.

"You stood guard to Sir Roland's sword for so long," he whispered. "I'm sorry it had to come to this." At that moment, Athos appeared next to him. After seeing Athos disappear and reappear a couple of times, he was not so startled at the Archsage's sudden apparition.

"At long last, their souls can finally rest," he said. "Don't feel too guilty, Eliwood, you've finally given the rest that they yearned to have. Time for a reunion of sorts for me. Move back, Eliwood, I need to meet an old friend, your ancestor Sir Roland, the little knight." As he said this, he raised his hand a light flashed from the altar. "Awaken, Roland, answer my call," he called. As he said this, a spectre whose appearance greatly resembled Eliwood's came into view.

"My friend... wise, omniscient Athos... we meet again," he said in voice that echoed around the chamber. Athos replied by nodding courteously. "I feel that much time has passed and seeing you again brings back fond memories," Roland continued. "Fighting dragons with old friends, I've almost forgotten after so long..."

"It's been almost a thousand years, Roland," Athos replied. "Yet, once again, the world is threatened by one who craves the power of dragons."

Roland's raised his eyebrow. "The might of dragons?" Athos nodded, he explained the situation, how Nergal tried forcing the twins to open the Dragon's Gate and now he has Ninian in his captivity. He then explained that only through the power of the Divine Weapons that Nergal can be defeated.

"Heed my words, Roland," he explained. "This boy is descended from your blood. Please, lend him your strength."

Roland sighed. "I am a dead man and am only here in spirit, Athos, flesh and blood are missing from me." He paced around the chamber and stopped at where Durandal was kept. "Wait, take this," he pointed at the Blazing Sword. "Its blade shall serve as a vessel for my soul's strength. I may disappear from this world, but I will be glad to help my children and help the world from calamity. I am not selfish enough to cling to this world while it falls apart around me. I ask that you will see this through and guide my child, Athos." Athos nodded, as Roland disappeared.

Watching from a distance, Eliwood saw the man that looked very much like himself and was curious. "Lord Athos, who was that man?" As Athos explained that it was Roland, a sword appeared on the altar. The sword was about as long as a canoe oar, and about five times as heavy.

"Take it!" said Athos. "It's yours now." Eliwood moves towards the altar. It was his sword, but the sheer size made him shudder. How could he lift such a weapon, let alone use it in combat?

"Don't let the size intimidate you, Eliwood," assured Athos gently. "Roland was famous for his small stature, what matters is whether the sword wants you as its owner. Pick it up, have a try." Eliwood picked up the sword. It was indeed heavy, but as he held onto it, he felt his own strength increase enough so he can lift it up and wield it. 'What a wondrous blade,' he thought. It really felt like an extension to his own arm. As he picked it up, Athos led him, Lyn and Rath out of the cave.

"I need to go and bring Hector back from the Western Isles," said Athos. "Hopefully, he has been able to pass the trials and obtain Armads, the legendary axe of thunder. I'll be back shortly."

o0o

While Eliwood went into the cave to get Durandal, Athos invited Hector to go to the Western Isles with him to collect Armads, the Thunder Axe. Athos told him that it was locked away in another cave, and guardians guarded the axe from evil-doers. He was told that he could take one person along to help him, but only one, since additional support would only make the guardian projections tougher. Hector did not know who to take with him, so he went into the camp and asked for volunteers. Unfortunately for him, a lot of people put up their hand, making it very difficult to pick who to take. So he decided to pick on the ones who did not put their hand up. Walking around, he scanned through the volunteers and those who did not volunteer, finally setting his eyes on Farina, who did not put her hand up. Smiling to himself, he cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to disappoint everyone who did put up their hand," he announced. "But I was testing you guys. I want to make those who didn't volunteer feel bad, so I picked someone who didn't put their hand up, hehehe." He pointed at Farina and said: "You, you're coming with me."

Farina looked startled but blushed slightly. "Why do you want me come with you?" she demanded. "You're going to have to pay me extra for this!"

Hector laughed to himself. "I'm taking you along with me so you don't get to try anything dodgy while I'm away," he said. "I'm going to make sure that that extra sixteen thousand gold you demanded is milked for all it's worth. This is the first of the two tasks that you agreed to do for me, have you already forgotten our little deal? Come on, otherwise you're fired. Wait here for Graybeard Athos, I need to speak with Oswin first."

He walked around and looked for Oswin and found him talking to a messenger. "Oswin!" he called. "There you are. You just received a message from Ostia, right? What did my brother say?" Oswin jumped as he saw Hector speaking to him.

"Nothing... of importance," he stuttered. "A simple relaying of recent events is all."

Hector saw his pale expression, which showed a large amount of distress and could not help but becoming anxious himself. Did something just happen to his brother?

"Oswin?" he asked while creasing his eyebrow, his guts coiling around with dread. "What is it? What has happened? I've never seen you like this before." Picking himself together, Oswin forcibly smiled.

"Is that so?" he replied. "I must be more tired than I thought." Not convinced but not wanting to delay Athos and Farina, Hector decided not to push the matter.

"In that case then, get some rest, Oswin," he said. "Graybeard Athos and I and going to move toward something spectacular. There are these Divine Weapons buried around the world, but we don't have time to gather each one. Eliwood's collecting the sword now, and I'm going with Graybeard to collect the axe."

Delighted by the distraction, Oswin asked: "The legendary axe, the Berserker Durban's Thunder Axe, Armads?"

Hector was surprised. "Impressive, Oswin, you're quite knowledgeable," he commented. "To get this Armads, I'm going to the west with Graybeard and Farina. I have to pass some 'negotiation of strength' or something like, then we'll go and defeat Nergal."

"I pray for your swift return then, Lord Hector," said Oswin. Hector returned the goodbye. However, when he was about to leave, Oswin's distressed face came back to him, making him stop and turn around slowly.

"Oswin," he called. "I'm going to ask you one last time. Look me in the eye when you answer. There is nothing you need to tell me about my brother, is there?"

Oswin was prepared this time. He did not think for a second that Hector had forgotten about the exchange that happened just a minute ago.

"Nothing," he replied. "The message... it said there was nothing new with the marquess." It appeared he was telling the truth, so Hector relaxed.

"I understand. The vow you swore to me in Laus is still in effect, yes?" he asked. He was referring to the one where Oswin pledged his loyalty and follow every order given by Hector.

Oswin replied: "Of course, the service I vowed still holds true." Hector seemed reassured.

"Good," he said. "Oswin, this is for your ears alone. If something happens in Ostia, no matter what, I will return to my brother's side. I have been foolish in the past, but as the marquess' brother, I will do anything required of me. While I am away in the west, or any time after that, I want you to report to me everything you hear about my brother, no matter how trivial they seem." Oswin nodded. "I'd better get going, take care of things, Oswin," Hector bade goodbye, then went over to where Farina and Athos were waiting, and together, they disappeared.

When they reappeared, they were standing in front of a cave with black smoke coming out of it. It was pitch black inside.

"Hey Graybeard Athos," called Hector. "You sure this is the right place?" Farina nodded in agreement. She did not really care where she went, even if it was tagging along with Hector, but going into a pitch black smoke-filled cave was not on top of her list.

"Yes," said Athos. "Armads, the Divine Weapon of Durban the Berserker, who took the name as his own, is in there. The battle axe is so tremendous that normal men cannot even lift it. However, it's possible that you might be strong enough."

Hector was excited. "If I've got that axe, I can help Eliwood, can't I?" he asked. "Come on, let's go, Farina. I want to get my hands on that axe!" Athos stopped him.

"Slow down, you fool!" he said with a tinge of frustration. "You need to be on guard. Every act of strength you perform has consequences." Impatient to get into the cave, Hector brushed off Athos' warning.

"Don't worry, come on Farina, let's get that axe!" he said excitedly, and walked into the cave with Farina. Athos could only shake his head.

"Hmph," he snorted. "You are a bold one. It is your strength, but also your weakness. Your recklessness may one day be your undoing..."

o0o

As they entered the cave, Hector and Farina suddenly felt a drop in the amount of breathable air. The smoke was extremely heavy, so they had to light a torch, stay low and progress slowly. After ten minutes, they reached a large chamber that was lit up by torches. There were half a dozen guardians patrolling the area, and seeing Hector and Farina walk in, they immediately pounced on the intruders.

"Well Farina," laughed Hector. "Here's where you show me what you're worth. You'd better be worth those twenty thousand gold, or you're dying here." Sticking out his tongue, he pulled out a sword along with his Wolf Beil axe and started attacking the enemies. Getting rather annoyed at the snide comment but blushing in embarassment, Farina picked up her spear and began fighting as well. The pair of them both had rather reckless and aggressive attacking styles, so they both got into trouble quite a few times. Seeing each other in danger, one would have to go out of his or her way to distract the enemy long enough for the other to regain lost ground. Farina taking on two enemies at once, four guardians turned their attention to Hector.

With the power boost received from the Heaven Seal, Hector moved faster than ever. Sword in one hand, axe in the other, there was very little opportunity for the enemy to go on the offensive. The enemy would defend against the sword, and then be pummeled by the axe immediately. Even though Hector was outnumbered, he would continually swing his sword around in an arc to catch any enemy stupid enough to come into it, therefore being able to ward off the four guardians quite easily. Attacking mainly with his axe, he would chop down, and then immediately spin the axe and chop sideways. Sometimes he would feint chopping down, then do a loop and then chop sideways. He would also bring the rest of his body into the fight, he would kick his enemies and even headbutt them.

On the other side of the room, Farina was using the advantage of using a spear to pre-emptively strike from a distance, therefore able to keep the guardians at bay. Holding the spear like a stick, she would stab forward but also sweep the spear and hit the enemy from the side, knocking them off balance.

After about ten minutes of intense fighting, Hector was able to kill two guardians. Picking up a fallen sword, he threw it at one of the guards fighting with Farina, impaling him against the wall. With two against three, the pair easily took out the rest of the guards, Farina piercing the next of a swordsman that was fighting her, and Hector ran through another guard with his sword while simultaneous crushing the skull of the other with his axe.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" asked Hector. Farina smiled back at him."Hey, maybe you're worth twenty thousand gold after.. hey! What are you doing? What's wrong?" Farina had suddenly felt very queasy from the low air concentration and tumbled over. Hector hurried over to help her up. Slapping her lightly a few times, he finally woke her up.

"What are you doing?" she asked him. Hector looked her frail form with concern.

"You just keeled over," he said. "You gave me quite a scare. You all right?"

Seeing him hold her like this, Farina felt slightly uneasy. She thought he was quite a fine man and was very easy to get along with, but she did not expect that he would get such close contact with her.

Pushing him away, she muttered: "Thanks for helping, but why are you helping me? We mercenaries are pawns, bought for gold. All we can trust is money. Why are you being so good to me?" Hector looked at her with a look of confusion.

"Geez," he sighed. "Why are so uptight about this? You're a real charmer, you know that? I'm only concerned about your well-being." The expression he saw on Farina's face as he said this was something he would never expect in a lifetime. Her face went hot red with rage.

"What well-being?" she shouted. "You're just trying to make a case for lowering my wage!" 'This bitch is impossible,' thought Hector. 'Whoever becomes her husband will truly experience the worst kind of hell.' As he thought this however, he shivered as his heart quickened, hoping that she cannot read his thoughts.

"Will you just calm down and hop off that subject just for one second?" said Hector incredulously. "The day you stop talking about money will be the end of the world. I just don't want you fainting around the place. In case you haven't noticed, I have to go get that axe, I don't have time to be reviving dead people." Having enough of her impudence, he started walking away.

"Wait!" called Farina quietly. Hector stopped.

"What now?" he said without turning around, then he heard her sniffling quietly in a clearly defined frequency. "Come on, now," he squatted down as hecomforted her. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're crying because I'm going to cut your wage, is that it?" Looking up, Farina shook her head.

"I'm sorry I was rude," she sobbed. "It's just no-one apart from my sisters have treated me so nicely before. Our parents left us when we were very little. I'm just happy that you actually show genuine concern for me, Lord Hector."

'So she's just like me,' thought Hector. "Farina," he whispered. "How's this for a deal. You can 'fight for me' after we beat Nergal, but I'm not going to pay you anything. Instead, I'll look after you for the rest of your life, how does that sound?" Farina was surprised. She's never thought of any method of payment outside of money, but here Hector was offering something worth more than any amount of gold could ever be. Smiling and face reddening, she replied: "Of course. I'll never leave your side again. Let's go get that axe, hey big man?"

Getting back up, they went further into the cave. The cave became pitch-dark again, so they had to relight their torch. After walking for about another five minutes, they reached another large room. In the middle of the room, there was an altar. As they approached the altar, a large fighter dropped down from above.

"I am Kaim," he boomed. "You who search for power, must prove your worth to me!" Lifting his axe and shield, he leapt at Hector. Lifting his own axe, Hector dodged to the side and brought it down on Kaim's head. It was blocked by his shield with a loud 'clang'. Lifting his sword as well, Hector thrust forward, only to have the blade trapped by Kaim's axe. Seeing Hector in trouble, Farina tried to stab Kaim, but he quickly moved out of the way. With his sword and axe free, Hector quickly went on the offensive again. Spinning his arms around, he brought sword and axe down one after the other, forcing Kaim to become defensive and pushing him towards the wall. After two minutes of hard pounding, Kaim's shield shattered and broke. Alarmed at Hector's power, he rolled to the side and decided to fight offense against offense. This caught Hector off guard, as he is usually the one attacking. Using his sword to block Kaim's blows, Hector quickly moved back and looked for an opportunity to strike back. After about ten exchanges, Hector's sword broke from the strain of Kaim's axe. Feeling vulnerable without his sword to defend, Hector became desperate, jumped back and threw his axe at Kaim, who dodged it without much trouble. 'Holy shit, I'm screwed,' thought Hector. As a last ditch effort to save himself, he reached forward and grabbed Kaim's arm, stopping the axe from cutting down on him. Using his strength he pushed the axe away from him while Kaim tried to push it as hard as he could down on Hector's head. Seeing this critical situation, Farina decided to try and distract Kaim by aiming her spear and stabbing him. He was unfazed, however. As the spear made its way towards his head, Kaim suddenly let go of the axe, making Hector tumble forward into the spear. Fortunately, Farina noticed the danger and quickly swung the spear around to avoid stabbing Hector to death, knocking Kaim off his feet. With axe in hand, Hector quickly went on the offensive, bringing the axe down again and again until after about ten misses, he finally found his mark.

In his defeat, Kaim's eyes were filled with both shock and admiration. "Tremendous... strength..." he said as he coughed up blood. "Truly... like his..." He expired after he said his last words. Hector walked up to the altar.

"Hey, Graybeard Athos, I made it! Where's the axe?" he called triumpantly. Suddenly, a loud, raspy voice filled the air.

"Let... me... fight..." it said. A spectre of a big, rough-looking, brown haired man with a steel headband appeared at the altar. Hector was scared out of his wits.

"Wh-who the hell are you?" he stammered.

"My name is... Durban," he said. "I am called Armads... I am power, power without peer. I am the dragon hunter, the fleshbiter, the bonecrusher, skullbreaker, the doombringer. I require no seals. I have no need for this idleness called peace. Power unused is power wasted. It's better to lie in the grave than to sit down and wait. I don't care who, just let me fight someone!"

Hector was scared. 'This guy is a maniac,' he thought. "Hey Durban, I mean, Armads, whatever your name is, can lend me your strength?" he asked. Durban gave him a dirty look.

"You desire strength?" he smirked. "Then prepare yourself. Once you have gained such power, your life will not end in a comfortable bed, but in the bloodiness of battle, in the savage garden of war's bloody delights. The wielder of Armads would never find lasting peace, since there is no need for it." Hector heard this and trembled slightly, but ultimately, he only wanted to help Eliwood. Who knew what the future would bring? He would rather die in a bloody battle than to sit around and die from Nergal's dragons.

"I don't care," claimed Hector. "I will help my friend. That's why I have come here. Armads, your power! Lend it to me!"

"Then it is yours," Durban declared, impressed at the young lord's courage. He disappeared straight after. A giant axe appeared on the altar. It had the height of a flagpole that was carried into battle, yet it was at least ten times heavier. 'Holy crap,' Hector thought as he tried to lift it. It was so heavy that he could only lift it a few centimetres from the ground.

"Is it too heavy for you?" asked a voice. It was Athos. "Your power must come from the hunger for more power," he explained. "Durban's thirst for power and battle was the key to his power." By putting all his effort into craving power and fighting, Hector was finally able to lift the axe above his head, and triumphantly, he returned to Lycia with Athos and Farina.

o0o

When Hector returned from the Western Isles, they all began to admire their new-found weapons. "Durandal, the sword of sacred fire," whispered Lyn in awe. "For some reason, I've never seen it before, but it feels so familiar..."

"I will use this blade to battle Nergal," said Eliwood confidently. With the mighty sword in his hand, he felt like he could defeat anyone. "Come! Let us head to the Dragon's Gate!" Suddenly, the Blazing Sword glowed eerily. It was its way of letting Eliwood that danger was approaching.

"Watch out!" Eliwood warned. "Something's coming!" Within two seconds of his warning, a long, anguished roar pierced the air as a blue-green ice dragon flew from behind the hill and landed in front of them.

Terror ran through Eliwood, Hector and Lyn's hearts. The whole camp went into disarray.

"It can't be!" exclaimed a shocked Eliwood. Had Ninian actually helped Nergal open the gate?

"No! How is this possible?" yelled Hector. Even though he was scared, Eliwood's mind was clear. With the power of the Blazing Sword, his arm seemed to act on his own.

"Get back, everyone!" he commanded. Rushing forward, he gripped the Blazing Sword tightly.

"No, Lord Eliwood, wait!" he heard Nils call desperately, but he paid it no heed as the sword commanded him to continue. Jumping into the air, he brought the blade down on the dragon's neck, slitting its throat. The dragon let out a long roar and fell to the ground. As Eliwood, landed, Hector and the others all approached him.

"Eliwood! Are you alright?" his friend asked.

Proud of what he had done but startled by the power of the sword, Eliwood stuttered: "I think so, my body seemed to move on its own... it was as if the sword itself was guiding my arm. How the hell did Nergal call this dragon? How was he able to force Ninian to release one?"

Knowing something was wrong, Athos was deep in thought, but answered: "The sword of sacred fire was made to combat dragons. With so much power, who can say what it might be capable of? But this ice dragon, surely Nergal couldn't call one over from the Dragon's Gate so easily, could it be? Surely it can't be... no..." Seeing his worried expression and Nils' prior warning, Eliwood also became anxious. The sky seemed to turn overcast as he watched Athos ponder the situation with increased foreboding.

"Is something wrong, Lord Athos?" As he asked this, a cold voice answered from behind him. "Let me be the one to answer that, Eliwood."

When Eliwood and others heard this voice, a chill went down each of their spines while their blood simultaneously boiled. Standing right behind a startled and distressed Nils, with a look of indifference, stood Nergal.

Eliwood stepped forward and spoke with rage, his hand gripped tighter around Durandal. "Nergal, you blackheart, why are you here? Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Nergal's eyes turned to slits. "Ninian proved useless," he said coldly. "I've come for a replacement." He raised his hand and knocked out Nils.

"Nils!" yelled Eliwood, Hector and Lyn.

"Don't waste your breath, he won't wake for some time," continued Nergal. "He will do for me what Ninian would not."

Eliwood's heart sank like a rock as he heard this and blurted out: "You scum! What have you done with Ninian? If you've even harmed a single hair on her, don't even think of leaving alive!" Nergal laughed in genuine amusement.

"Oh, I am terrified, Eliwood. Do you think you can harm me? But since you're accusing me, let me tell you, I didn't do anything to Ninian. It's what _you_ have done, Eliwood." This left Eliwood completely and utterly confused. He had done nothing to harm Ninian, surely he would know if he did? If he was the one who had hurt her, he would never forgive himself. All he could do was let out a simple "What?"

Nergal smiled. "Looks like you are clueless as you always are, Eliwood," he laughed. "I don't think this will be easy for you to hear, but the truth is often bitter. In this case, I don't think you know _how_ bitter. Did you never once pause to question why Ninian and Nils were the ones needed to open the Dragon's Gate?"

Eliwood had questioned it before, but his love for Ninian meant he did not want to get into her private affairs. He knew that she had kept a secret for him, but for her happiness, he never pushed the matter. After contemplating by himself countless times, there were many times where he unknowingly stumbled upon the truth, dismissing it every time due to fear and the sheer ridiculousness of it. Unfortunately for Eliwood, sometimes the most unexpected explanation is the one that is true. Now that Nergal was about to finally explain, he was scared out of his wits and did not want his worst fears to come true.

Nergal continued: "The answer is very simple. The Dragon's Gate cannot be opened by humans. It would senseless for a gate designed for dragons to be easily opened by humans, right?" Eliwood's trembling magnified tenfold when he heard this. 'Anything but this,' he thought. 'It is preposterous, it is impossible, please do not let it be true.'

Seeing Eliwood's reaction, Nergal became even more amused. "It's pitiful, really," he kept on. "Poor Ninian's plight is truly agonising. Coaxed by my honeyed words, she passed through the gate. Unable to return home, but refusing to aid me, she wandered around the land, lost and alone, until she was slain by the hand of the one she loved."

Shaking to the bone and realising that the truth is the one he had always feared, Eliwood tried desperately to reject it. "What... are you saying?" he stuttered as he shook her head in vain.

"Can you not guess, Eliwood?" Nergal raised his eyebrow. "Are you truly that stupid, or is it that you are just afraid? Very well, let me tell you. The ice dragon over there, the one slaughtered by your hand, is Ninian. That is the girl you loved and swore to protect. She returned to her true form and lost all human memory. Yet you, above all else, remained in her heart, which is why she came here. Look at the creature you have killed, Eliwood, for it is Ninian."

Eliwood had already worked out the truth, but the shock of hearing it out aloud smashed him like a tidal wave, almost causing him to faint. Doubling over, he threw up a mouthful of blood as he finally compreheneded what had happened. "Go on, look," pressed Nergal, as the ice dragon started shrinking back to human form. "She's using the last of her strength to take human form one last time. There may still be enough time for you to say goodbye. Of course, there's no way you can save her."

At this, Eliwood lost all of his composure. Fury, grief, guilt and hate filled every blood vessel, every muscle and every tissue in his body. His face turning scarlet, breathing becoming heavy and eyes dilating, he let out a long, anguished scream.

"Nergal!" he roared. "You foul demon! If I don't kill you here and today, then let my father's spirit and Ninian never know peace!" With this, he tightly gripped Durandal and rushed at Nergal.

Although Hector and the others were also shocked by the revelation, they were not anywhere near as shaken as Eliwood was. Diving forward, Hector grabbed Eliwood and pulled him back.

"Calm down, Eliwood!" he implored. "Get a hold of yourself, you are not his match! If you get killed like this, do you think Ninian would be happy?"

Nergal snorted and reminded Eliwood softly: "I didn't do anything, Eliwood, you're the one who killed her." Hearing this, the young lord dropped the Blazing Sword, dropped to his knees and slammed his fists into the ground in frustration, guilt and grief as he wept bitterly. Chaos reigned in both the camp and in Eliwood's mind as pulses of psychological aftershocks hit him over and over again. Over the commotion, Ninian called out to him: "Lord... Eliwood..." Her soft and gentle voice pierced him the hardest, as reminding him that soon, he would never hear it again. Regaining his senses, he hurried over and held her in his arms.

"What have I done?" he mouthed hopelessly. "Don't die, Ninian, please don't die... I promised you that I would protect you from all harm... that we'll be together forever..."

Ninian smiled with acceptance. "I'm glad..." she whispered. "I'm glad, that you are safe... and unharmed, my lord." Eliwood's grief doubled as he heard this. Even in the face of death, the only thing she cared about was him. How could he ever repay her kindness? Seeing his pain, Ninian raised her hand to stroke his face.

"Don't be sad, Lord Eliwood, it is fate," she murmured. "After seeing what I truly am, you still treat me with sincerity, I can truly die without regrets. I was only afraid that when you worked out the truth, you would leave me and I would never see you again. Are you angry at me?"

Eliwood shook his head and smiled lovingly but without no happiness whatsoever. "Silly Ninian," he choked. "What made you think that I would be angry? If perchance that I was annoyed, it would only be at myself, that I wasn't trustworthy enough for to you confide in me. Am I, Eliwood, that kind of person?"

"Good," she whispered with relief. Drawing on her last strength and making a serious face, she continued: "I have lived and suffered for more than a thousand years, Lord Eliwood. The month I have spent with you have truly made it all worthwhile. Please forget about me, for this world... needs... your... protection..." At this, the pair of bright red eyes staring into Eliwood's stopped their warm, kind gaze, the soft breath blowing into his face stopped flowing and the hand stroking his face dropped as Ninian's lifeless body slumped against Eliwood in finality.

Shock, regret, guilt and unbearable sadness struck Eliwood like thunderbolts from a clear sky. "Ninian!" he choked. "Please wake up! You can't... there's still so much we could have done together... Ninian! No, why?" All he wanted was to live with Ninian for the rest of his life. How could it end this way? Raising his to the sky, he let out a long, roaring lament that echoed through the valley and seemed to last for eternity.

Nergal watched the drama unfold with interest. As Eliwood completely broke down, he could not help but laugh.

"That's enough," he hissed. "You will await the end of the world trembling in the shadows of dragons!" Suddenly, a blur whipped in front of Nergal. It was Athos. Power seemed to be pulsate from every corner of his body, as if being driven out by a boundless fury.

"Nergal, you abomination! I will not permit it," he declared. "Instead, I will see you perish in flame!" As soon as he said this, he raised his hand, concentrated all his power and unleashed bright red flames which completely engulfed the dark droid and everything around him. Even with their shock at Ninian's death, Eliwood and the others saw Athos unleash his power and could not help but gasp in awe. Little did they know that through the sheer amount of quintessence absorbed from the Black Fang members, Nergal had enough to power to resist even Athos' attack. When the smoke cleared, Athos could only gasp in amazement after seeing Nergal virtually unscathed. Patting his robe, Nergal laughed.

"The purest fire... Forblaze," he commented. "Very impressive, Archsage Athos, you power is admirable. However, fire is no longer my foe! Look, not even a Divine Weapon can cause me harm! At long last, I am impervious! O ho, ho, ho! Miserable, aren't you, Athos? Yet, out of respect for the great man you used to be, I'll leave now without killing a single person. After all, we followed the same path five hundred years ago, didn't we, old friend?" He cackled as he finished speaking, then he disappeared.

Hector was speechless as he watched everything unfold. "What do we do now?" he asked Athos. "Not even legendary weapons can stop him!" Athos looked back at him with equal helplessness. At that time, a small voice was heard. It was Nils. Lyn hurried over to his side and held him up.

"Ninian!" he called. "What happened to my Ninian? Please tell me everything is a dream! Please tell me she's still alive!" Looking around frantically, his eyes moved from Lyn, to Hector, then to Athos, and finally on Eliwood. As Nils' stare pierced him, shame filled his heart and dropped his head, only able to utter: "Nils... I'm so sorry."

Seeing Ninian in Eliwood's arms and his mournful expression, Nils felt like the sky had just collapsed onto him as his worst fears had been confirmed. Holding his head in his arms, he let out a long, anguished scream.

o0o

It was evening when Eliwood and his friends were finally able to give Ninian a proper burial. Nils was so overcome with grief that he was left speechless, only dropping onto his knees and sobbed uncontrollably in front of Ninian's tombstone. Lyn, Hector, Athos and everyone who followed them all paid their respects to the girl they had all promised to protect, the one whose premonitions saved them numerous times. Finally, Eliwood stepped forward to say his goodbyes.

"Ninian," he whispered. "I am so sorry. I promised you two things. My first was that I would protect you forever. The second was that I would follow you wherever you went, whether it is in this world or the next. I sincerely apologise that I am unable to fulfill the first. However, whatever I do, I will fulfill the second. I will avenge you by killing Nergal, then I will come back to join you in the grave, or die trying." With this, he dropped to his knees and cried freely.

No-one was able to sleep that night, and when they woke up, everybody was still extremely lethargic. Hector suggested that to avoid entangling with assassins, that they should go to Ostia and rest, then plan their next move. No-one opposed this.

o0o

o0o

o0o

Closing notes on this chapter:

Alright, if you've read this, you probably would have noticed that I'm pairing Hector with Farina. While I do like the Hector/Florina support conversations, I feared that it might just become another strong man/weak lady relationship, so I made Farina go with Hector just so we have a bit more action. Farina's personality is frankly, more interesting in my opinion.


	17. Chapter 17

Replies to reviews:

zeldamaster456: Thanks for the review, I don't know why people aren't reviewing this, but it really doesn't matter. Maybe it's too long and they can't be bothered reading it?

Hyralc: You brought up an interesting issue, and I actually thought quite hard about the Tactician's role before starting this. Firstly, Lyn doesn't have to meet the Tactician to get to Caelin, since Sain and Kent would find her in Bulgar when she gets there. Secondly (and more importantly), the reason I decided to leave out the Tactician is because the Tactician's role in the game is one of a tool to tell the story. He/she is the character that the other characters interact with, and in turn, tells the story. In this fanfic/novelisation, that role is redundant because everything is told to you by a narrator (in this case, me), which is why I left him/her out.

o0o

o0o

o0o

_**Chapter 17: This is a Message From Lord Nergal**_

Exhausted and miserable, Eliwood and his friends arrived at Castle Ostia. Most of the group avoided Eliwood and Nils, only talking to them when it was absolutely necessary. As they walked through the castle gates, the guards were surprisingly quiet for the homecoming greetings. One of them slowly marched up to Hector.

"Lord Hector!" he called. "We're pleased to see you home and well!" Hector started to feel a bit uneasy at the how quiet everyone was. Normally, if Lord Uther heard his brother was coming home, he would greet Hector himself, surrounded by about five of his closest guards. Concerned that his brother may be ill and needing to be attended to, Hector quickly rushed through the castle gates.

"Where's my brother?" he asked the guard roughly.

"Ah..." he stuttered, as if trying to remember a script. "He departed yesterday for a conference in Etruria. He's scheduled to return in about half a month's time." 'So there is something fishy here,' Hector thought. However, with his friends in tow, he cannot let himself get bogged down in his own personal affairs, especially with what they have been through in the past few days. He needed to be the strong leader, not the hysterical child.

"Etruria?" he said, not betraying any hint of his thoughts. "That's a pity. Go and prepare rooms for my companions. They need rest. Do not disturb my friend Eliwood, or Nils, unless they speak to you first, or I will personally kill you." Immediately, the guards followed the orders and led everyone into the resting quarters. Hector stayed outside, watching them all going to their rooms, desperate for rest. However, when Oswin walked past, he stopped his loyal gyard.

"My brother's away," he murmured. "Oswin, did you know about this?"

Oswin froze. "Uh, yes, I was aware of his trip," he replied.

Hector pondered for second, then spoke up: "Why did he choose to go to Etruria now? I don't get it. It's not like him." Turning to Oswin, he rounded on his knight. "Didn't I say to report to me anything regarding my brother to me, Oswin? No matter how trivial, you were supposed to tell me. I told you this yesterday and you've already forgotten."

Oswin looked uncomfortable. "Well, I received the message last night, Lord Hector," he explained. "However, the events that occurred yesterday made it quite inappropriate for me to try and worry you with something as small as that."

Hector did order Oswin to tell him every bit of news regarding his brother, but what he said made sense. Eliwood has just lost another loved one, and Nergal had shown how powerful he had become, and the morale amongst the group was at an all time low. There was nothing to be gained by troubling him with an extra bit of news.

"Fine, You can go rest, Oswin, you've had enough to deal with these days," Hector conceded. "Make sure you get a few of the guards to watch out for Eliwood and Nils for me, to make sure they don't try anything rash," he added. Oswin nodded in response.

As he was walking to his own room, Hector walked past Lord Uther's room. Something caught his eye. His brother's prized spear was still on the wall. Suspicions ran through his mind immediately. 'If my brother really has gone to Etruria, then why would he leave his spear behind?' he thought. 'Does he want to get assassinated?' The more he pondered, the more worried he became. It was clear that the castle guards were avoiding him. Every time he would try to talk to one of them to discuss the matter, they came up with all kinds of excuses, such as serving his friends, sentry work, and so on. Getting impatient, he was about to summon Oswin to his room when he spotted Athos trudging slowly past. He had wanted to ask the old man something ever since he had heard Nergal mention that he had once known Athos. 'Getting information on my brother can wait', he thought.

"Hey Graybeard Athos!" he called. "You know something, don't you? You and Nergal... tell us! What are we supposed to do now?" Athos turned around to look at Hector and sighed.

"A moment, lad, I guess you have a right to know," he said with a hint of defeat in his voice. "Do you have somewhere where we can talk a bit more openly?"

Hector arranged the dining room to be vacated so Athos could tell his story. He also told Lyn to come and listen as well. He did not want to bother Eliwood, so he did not invite him and decided to relay everything learnt to him later.

Meanwhile, Eliwood was just pacing around his room, mind a blank. It seemed like a thousand years ago that he was living the easy life in Castle Pherae with his father, or watching Ninian perform her special dance for him. How had he lost so much in such a short time? Why was fate so unkind to him, when he had been so kind to others in return? He kept trying to find a time where he had been cruel to others. He found a few memories where he did not treat others well, but none of them could warrant the cruel retribution that he had been dealt. He thought of Nergal, who killed people to steal their quintessence, laughing at his suffering and at the suffering of many others. Why was fate so kind to such an evil man like Nergal? The more he pondered, the sadder and more frustrated he got. Walking over to the window, he had a sudden urge to just jump out and end it all. What was the purpose of living in an unjust world? However, his final vow to Ninian came back to his head.

"I will avenge you by killing Nergal, then I will come back to join you, or die trying," he had promised her grave. He also remembered her last request, asking him to protect the world from further damage by Nergal. He could do nothing but slam his fist onto the bedside table and let out a scream, frustrated by his own guilt, the lack of progress and constant heartache, along with his inability to solve any of them.

Unable to stand his self-imposed solitary confinement any more, Eliwood decided to go for a walk around Castle Ostia, hoping that he might find something relatively amusing that would distract him from his loss. It was only about a month ago that he came here to seek Marquess Ostia's advice. In that month, he had experienced such joy, then such pain. While walking around, he could not help but notice that his shadow was the only one who now followed him. As he walked past Nils' room, he quickly sped up, hoping to avoid him if possible. The last thing he wanted to do was get into an awkward silence opposite Nils, trying to apologise when he knew that it would never be accepted. While Ninian held a huge place in Eliwood's heart, he still had a mother and friends who cared about him. Furthermore, he held the great responsibility of being the heir to the Pheraen throne, as well as leading the campaign to stop Nergal. Without Eliwood and his friends, Nergal would go virtually unchallenged, and mankind would possibly disappear within a week of him summoning dragons. Nils, on the other hand, did not have friends or family outside of Ninian. He had no purpose in Elibe. Ninian was everything to him, and Eliwood had just taken it away. How could Eliwood expect Nils to forgive him? He may as well just handed him a death sentence.

After strolling for a little while longer and still unable to find anything to distract himself, he saw Lyn walking briskly towards the dining room. Deciding to try and distract himself by chatting to her, he followed her. As he got to the door, he saw Hector, Lyn and Athos sitting together, in conversation. Deciding not to distract them and make them worry about him, he stood at the door and listened to their conversation with curiosity.

"I first met Nergal some five hundred years ago," he heard Athos tell his story. "I found him wondering around the Nabata wasteland. Like me, his only drive was to search for truth in this world. We were equals in power and knowledge, and naturally, we became fast friends. We truly believed that we could solve the mysteries of the world, we truly believed..." As he finished saying this, he could not help let out a sigh of regret.

Lyn saw his expression and pressed further. "So what happened?" she asked.

"There was a disagreement at the height of our quest," explained Athos. "One day, as we charted the mysteries of Nabata, we came across the most amazing village. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it, but in that place, humans and dragons lived together in harmony."

Eliwood felt as though an invisible fist had just punched him in the face. Hector almost fell out of his chair. Even Lyn could help but let out a gasp. What madness was this?

"Dragons and humans?" stammered Hector. "Are you telling me that they could actually live together in peace?"

"At first, even I doubted what my own eyes had shown me," Athos pressed on. "But yes, the village truly did exist. The dragons I met there were both similar and different from the dragons I had fought hundreds of years before." At this, Eliwood could not bother to hide any more and walked into the room with his eyes staring at the floor. Hector was both surprised to see him up and about, but concerned for his well-being.

"Ah, Eliwood!" he called. "Are you alright?"

Eliwood nodded. "Please go on..." he murmured without any energy. "I need something to distract me from my pain."

"As you wish," Athos went on. "The dragons refused to fight with humans in the Scouring but instead retreated to Nabata. They only wished that they could be hidden from the outside, from persecution from humans and their fellow dragons. Nergal and I crafted a barrier and created an oasis for them. They were quite grateful and invited us to live there with them. Our life there was calm and satisfying. At some point, the village became known as Arcadia, a place of peace and hospitality for lost travelers."

Eliwood could not help but sigh of sadness and regret upon hearing this. This village oasis would have been the perfect place for Nils and Ninian to hide from the persecution of the rest of the world. It also meant that Ninian would not have had to hide her secret from him, which meant he may have been able to avoid the tragedy of accidentally killing her by exerting more of his will on the Blazing Sword.

"Arcadia..." he whispered sadly. Noticing Eliwood's expression, Athos' face turned gentle.

"Pardon me for saying this, Eliwood, but your current expression looks exactly like the one of Nergal's face when he first laid eyes on the village," he said, as Eliwood looked at him with confusion and a slight twinge of anger.

"Please don't compare me to that fiend," Eliwood growled. "His every breath insults me."

Athos knew he was going through a difficult time, so he complied. "Anyway," he continued. "While we there, the dragons' libraries were like a dream come true for us. We studied their language and history with unbridled passion. We spent a century or two there, time passed in the blink of an eye. However, our thoughts turned down different paths. I wanted to share the dragons' wisdom with others. My hope was for our earthly paradise to spread outward and for the rest of the world to know that dragons were not to be feared."

"And what about Nergal?" interrupted Hector.

Athos waved his hand signalling Hector not to interrupt him. "I was getting to that," he went on. "Nergal took the dragon's knowledge for his own ends. He learned the art of stealing the essence from living creatures and turning it into power. It was terrible. When we discovered what he was doing, the elders and I tried to persuade him to stop. However, he had a rather cynical view of the world. All he told us was 'Power is all I desire. If I had it, why would I be forced to live this life of regret?' We asked what he meant by this, but it seemed like it was something he did not want to speak about. Furthermore, the more he experimented, the more he was bewitched by the power and became deaf to our pleas. He started with small creatures and gradually grew more confident, until he began draining the quintessence from humans. The villagers and I finally decided that enough was enough, so we joined forces and banished him from Arcadia." Eliwood, Hector and Lyn were horrified. Power did seem to corrupt everything, they thought.

"After he was banished from Arcadia," he continued. "Nergal fled to Bern. He increased his power slowly to avoid our attention. Using quintessence, he made his 'puppets', the morphs. They're bewitching in form, with superhuman intellects and power. I'm sure you laid eyes on them yourselves. Jet black hair, pale complexion and blood-red lips. Their most striking features are their glittering golden eyes..." Before Athos was able to continue, a soldier ran into the room, almost knocking over a vase as he did so.

"L-Lord Hector!" he called. "It's bad! An unknown group of fighters has breached the castle walls! The attack was so sudden, the castle guards were annihilated!" Hector eyes dilated to their maximum size in surprise and anger.

"How did they get into the castle without anyone noticing them?" he spat. Castle Ostia is famed far and wide for having the best defenses in the Elibe. It was known that the castle was impregnable. It seemed ridiculous that some random group of fighters can suddenly breach it. 'Could it be saved?' wondered Hector.

"It's Nergal," explained Athos. "He used magic to created an entrance for his thugs within the castle, allowing them to pass straight through." Hector's anger rose immediately.

"Blast, that arrogant cur!" he cursed. "No matter what, we must protect it! I will not let this castle fall while brother's away!" Or sick, missing or dead, added Hector in his own mind with trepidation. Grabbing his axe, he charged out the room to confront the enemy.

"Hold on, Hector!" called Lyn. "We're coming too!" She was about to charge after Hector when she remembered Eliwood sitting next to her. He was almost perfectly still while staring into blank space.

"Are you going to come, Eliwood?" she asked with clear concern in her voice. "If you are, don't overexert yourself." Eliwood looked back at her and smiled his first in a few days. Picking up his own sword, he had finally found the distraction that he been looking for. Here was his chance to vent all his grief and frustration built up after Ninian's death, and what better way than to take it out on Nergal's troops? He would always forget everything when he was fighting for his life.

"Don't worry," he smirked. "I'm not that weak." He charged out with Lyn to fight the enemy.

When Hector, Lyn and Eliwood reached the main hallway, they found their friends and the remaining castle guards fighting against the enemy. All of them had the exact description Athos gave for Nergal's morphs. Jet black hair, pale complexion, blood-red lips and glittering golden monster eyes, having superhuman strength and intellect. Luckily for Eliwood and his friends, there were only about thirty of them, if they could hold on until reinforcements arrived, then they would be fine. Suddenly, a clear, cold voice pierced the room. It came from a hooded morph at the entrance of the hall.

"This is a message from Lord Nergal," he said. "'I await you on Dread Isle'. This is a message from Lord Nergal, 'I await you on Dread Isle'." He held a long, silver bow, shooting and killing castle guards as he monotonously continued his message. "This is a message from Lord Nergal, 'I await you on the Dread Isle'. This is a message from Lord Nergal, 'I await you on the Dread Isle'. This is a message from Lord Nergal, 'I await...'"

"Shut the hell up!" roared Hector, unable to take any more. The droning voice had pushed his already pulsating anger into a level he had rarely experienced before. With the castle under siege, the last thing he wanted was a parrot repeating the same message over and over again. He charged at the morph and brought his axe down, hoping to shut the machine off forever. Little did he expect that the morph's agility surpassed normal humans. Dodging the axe, he raised his fist and punched Hector in the face, making his fly across the room, all the while repeating his message: "This is a message from Lord Nergal, 'I await you on the Dread Isle'. This is a message..."

Seeing their friend get struck down, Eliwood and Lyn both went into their battle formation and started attacking the morph. Getting back up, Hector joined in and started hacking at him as well. The morph weaved and dodged, occasionally shooting our poisonous darts from his hands, all the while droning on with his message: "This is a message from Lord Nergal, 'I await you on the Dread Isle'. This is a message..." Eliwood and Lyn both defended while Hector attacked, pushing the morph back. Meanwhile, most of their friends were engaged in the battle in some way or another. Oswin was busy fending off a rather tough-looking knight morph. Wil and Rebecca crouched under a statue and fired arrows at the morphs, while Dart and Lowen made sure no melee fighters approached them. On the other side of the hall, Nino was firing magic at distant morphs while Jaffar fended away those that got close. The sounds of battle was deafening, although the lead morph's message was still audible over the chaos. "This is a message from Lord Nergal, 'I await you on the Dread Isle'. This is a message..."

The morph fighting Eliwood, Hector and Lyn decided to up the ante and started attacking. Jumping up, he suddenly went on the offensive and caught Eliwood off guard and kicked him in the chest, then suddenly used his bow to knock down Lyn. Leaping out of the formation, he pulled an arrow out of his quiver and was about to shoot an arrow at Hector and he suddenly leaped back to avoid a spear. Farina saw Hector in danger and had decided to intervene. Instinctively, the morph backhand slapped her across the face and she fell to the floor. Seeing Farina in danger, Hector picked up his axe and cut down at the morph, only for him to sneak away quickly. Eliwood and Lyn both got back to their feet and resumed the formation with Hector and pushed him back.

In the midst of the chaos, a door on the first floor of the entrance hall opened and Nils walked in. He saw the battle and was wondering if he should help or not. A castle guard saw him, and immediately went over to protect him, pulling him out of the room.

"You!" he called urgently. "You're one of Lord Hector's guests, aren't you? You shouldn't be out here, it's too dangerous! Go and hide in that room, understand?" He immediately went back into the battle, where he got struck by a stray arrow and died immediately. Nils looked at the poor soldier with pity. 'Should I help them?' he thought. 'What would Ninian do? Ninian would help without hesitation, but look what happened to her?' Frustration and grief welled up in him, and he left the room to go back to his room.

The morph who was fighting the lords was still weaving around and dodging their blows, occasionally going on the offensive. However, after being surprised by his sudden offensive attack last time, they made sure they were not caught off guard again. Gradually, they pushed him into a corner. Realising that he had nowhere to go, the morph suddenly went offensive again, making the lords defend. Using this opportunity, he jumped onto the wall and back flipped off it, regaining space for himself. 'So close!' Hector raged. Resuming the fight, Eliwood, Lyn and Hector continued using their formation. They were in the middle of a lengthy exchange when a spear suddenly flew towards them and struck the morph in the knee. The reinforcements for the castle had arrived.

Trapped by the spear, the morph was completely at Hector's mercy, who showed him none. Savouring the kill, he brought his axe down on the morph's temple, leaving a ten centimetre gush in his head. He fell over, but not after uttering one last "This is... a message... from... Lo...rd Nergal..." The reinforcements then immediately went to attack the rest of the morphs, who were all overwhelmed within two minutes.

After all the morphs were cleared, Hector immediately summoned Athos. "Hey Graybeard!" he called. "Are those guys..." Athos nodded.

"Yes, I'm sure of it, they are his morphs," he said. Lyn gasped in horror. Had Nergal really created so many puppets? How many people did he have to kill to get enough quintessence for so many morphs? They all shuddered at the thought.

"It is an abomination," continued Athos with marked anger in voice. "Truly a crime against all that is natural. When Nergal began using morphs to carry out his plans, his power grew beyond our ability to contain him. After humans, his next target became the essence of dragons. I was sure his next target was Arcadia, so I concealed our paradise behind a curtain of sandstorms. I then hid in the underground ruins and waited for him. I did not hope to defeat him, just to exchange a few blows and draw him into the desert, where he would die. Little did I know that he was somehow able to call the siblings through the Dragon's Gate, and now, he plans to call a horde of dragons to this land."

Eliwood and Hector was becoming increasingly alarmed. "So how do we stop him?" asked Hector, not expecting an answer.

"Our last hope is in the Divine Weapons," he explained. "It would take too long for us to gather them all. I will go to the Shrine of Seals and tell Bramimond everything. We must have his power, no matter the cost."

Eliwood nodded. "Then we should go to the Dragon's Gate ahead of you," he said. Athos raised an eyebrow. 'What a preposterous plan,' he thought. 'Only ones as reckless as themselves can come up with something like this.'

"That's a good idea," Hector agreed. "Even though we cannot harm Nergal himself, we can certainly do some damage to his troops."

Lyn also agreed. "If we don't answer Nergal's invitation soon, he'll continue sending morphs to attack us. We may as well take the fight to him."

Whatever Athos was expecting he was not expecting this. While age had taught him to be patient and to be cautious, he did not have the youthfulness to think in the way that they did. Touched by their chivalry, a tear came from Athos' eye. "You... you truly are Roland's children," he sniffed. "I'm old, but I didn't expect anything to surprise me again, and yet... It takes the strongest of bonds to alter the course of fate. Go, my youthful friends, set your sights on the Dragon's Gate and keep moving." They each nodded their acknowledgement.

"Ah Eliwood," added Athos. "What happened to Durandal?"

At the mention of Durandal and the sudden stop in fighting, the awful sadness kept locked in Eliwood's heart resurfaced. Clutching his chest, he went back to his room and brought the Blazing Sword to Athos.

"It's right here," he murmured. "I'm sorry, Lord Athos, but I simply could not bring myself to wield it." Hector nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Eliwood's right," he added. He brought Armads down as well. "I know it's powerful, but Eliwood said the sword controlled his arm. A weapon with a mind of its own? I don't think I'm ready either."

Athos closed his eyes and pondered this. "Give them to me then," he said finally. "Eliwood, Hector, I understand how the both of you feel, but without these weapons, we will not be able to stop Nergal, you understand this, right?" Eliwood and Hector both nodded.

"Yes," said Eliwood. "Next time, when I wield it, I won't hesitate."

"I won't either," added Hector. Knowing full well that he can trust the lords, Athos nodded, took the two weapons and disappeared.

o0o

Later that night, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Hector, on the other hand, was agitated. Walking around the castle, he was making sure that no secret portal appeared for the morphs again. As he walked up to the top watch tower, he saw Oswin staring into the distance, scouting for invaders. Remembering that he saw his brother's spear hung in his room before talking to Athos, he quickly walked up to Oswin.

"Oswin!" he called with marked impatience. Oswin looked around and saw Hector walking to him and heart skipped a bit. Here was someone he did not want to see.

"I'm here, Lord Hector," he said, without betraying his discomfort at meeting with Hector. He knew that talking to Hector alone meant bringing up the topic of his brother, so he decided to talk about something else. "We won't be able to contact Fargus about traveling to Valor until the day after tomorrow. For this one night, Lord Hector, please go and get some rest, you have been through a lot in the past few days."

'So he is still trying to lead me away from talking about my brother', thought Hector. 'It's obvious he is trying to dismiss me so he can avoid talking about it'. Frustrated by this, he became unable to restain himself any more. The anger built up over the last few days surfaced and took control. He pointed at Oswin accusingly and raised his voice.

"Who needs rest?" he vented loudly, shaking as he spoke. "Don't tell me to fucking rest when the whole of Ostia needs me! Yes, me! There is... something you need to tell me, isn't there?"

Seeing Hector's reaction, Oswin was frightened out of his wits. However, after thirteen years of service to Castle Ostia, he was able to keep his composure.

"I can think of nothing, my lord," he lied calmly. Unfortunately, this only fueled Hector even further. Snarling and unable to take it any more, Hector's hand reached out to Oswin's throat and pinned him against the wall.

"You fucking liar!" he shouted. "It's plain that everyone around the place is avoiding me! What are you all hiding... I know what it is! Tell me what happened to my brother now!" With his throat pinned against the wall, Oswin could feel his air being cut off.

"Lord Hector..." he choked. "You must... calm yourself." His plea was answered by a hard slap to the face. Obviously it was not the answer Hector was looking for.

"Say it! I command you!" Hector ordered hysterically. It was obvious to him now that something has happened to his brother and his anxiety pushed his anger even further. "Tell me what happened! If you don't answer right now, I will cut you down right here, knave!" Pulling his axe that was strapped to his back with his free hand, he leveled it against Oswin's head. Oswin, however, closed his eyes acceptingly, waiting for death.

"Do as you must," he whispered.

Seeing as Oswin's calm acceptance of being executed almost caused Hector to faint. He knew Oswin would not disobey a direct order from him, especially one that had an axe pointed as his head. The only reason Oswin would do so was if another order higher than his forbade him, in this case, Lord Uther's. The rage in his heart was quickly replaced by a rapidly growing grief. Throwing Oswin to the ground, he cupped his hands to his head and shook his head.

"I see, my brother... he's dead, isn't he?" Oswin was not prepared for this. Hector was smarter than he looked.

"Lord Hector!" he exclaimed, only to take another hard slap to the face.

"ISN'T HE?" bellowed Hector, who then immediately broke into bitter tears. "I was sure..." he mumbled sadly. "...that he was recuperating... that he'd gone somewhere to recover his strength. I thought that's what you were hiding, but you won't confess even now. That must mean, that must mean...!" With another shout of anger and grief, he ran down from the tower, with Oswin pleading for him to come back.

Without knowing where he was going, Hector ran and ran, only stopping when he ran out of breath. Why did it have to come to this? He knew his brother had an illness, but why did he have to hide it? Was he afraid that Hector would abandon the big picture and come back to help him? What was wrong with that? Even though Lord Uther always treated him like a child, he was more than just his brother. Hector was virtually raised by him. He was as much a father to Hector as he was his brother. Completely out of energy, Hector lied down on the ground and wept openly.

When he woke up, he was back in his room. He did not even realise that he crashed from exhaustion.

"Are you alright?" asked a familiar voice. Farina was looking at him with a look of concern.

"Yeah," replied Hector, as coolly as he could muster. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you. How did I get here?"

"I was going to the bathroom when I suddenly saw you bolting from the tower," explained Farina. "You seemed to be quite distressed. I ran after you, until I saw you lie down and pass out. What's wrong?" Hector then realised why he was there, everything that happened that night came back to him like a slide show. Accepting that he was never seeing his brother ever again, he dropped his head into his hands and let out a deep sigh.

"Do I have to tell you?" asked Hector. Knowing this was a private affair, Farina did not think it was wise to butt in.

"You don't have to tell me if it's too much," she said. Grateful to her kindness and respect for his privacy, Hector felt more comfortable. Picking himself back together, he stood up.

"Did anyone else see me in that state?" he asked in panic. Farina only followed Hector, and did not see anyone on the way.

"I didn't see anyone," she told him. "However, I cannot guarantee there wasn't anyone behind us who saw." Relieved, Hector let out another sigh. Looking up, he let out a mirthless smile.

"Good. So, Farina, what do you think of Ostia?" he tried asking casually. "Does my deal back in the Western Isles suit you?" Farina's face went from a snow white to a peachy pink.

"I guess..." she answered quietly, not knowing what to say. Why did he have to bring that up now? Hector seemed to wonder why as well when cold realisation came over him. Now that Uther was gone, he was going to have to his brother's place as the Marquess of Ostia. How would he be able to fool around with Farina if he was bogged down in affairs that concerned the well-being of his entire nation? 'Damn it, brother, you just have to screw up everything for me!' he cursed in his own mind. 'Oh well, I'll just have to see how everything turns out.' He sincerely hoped that he would be able carry out his promise to the girl standing next to him, he couldn't bear to imagine her disappointment if he told her that he had to renege it.

"Please don't tell anyone else what you saw tonight," he finally requested in a dismissive tone but not one filled with negativity. "Let's make this a matter between you and I only. Don't tell anyone, especially not Eliwood. I don't want to burden him with anything when he is in a similar situation right now." Nodding, Farina left him to sleep. 'Similar situation?' she thought with alarm and concern. 'What does he mean by that?'


	18. Chapter 18

Alright, long chapter ahead. We're really getting down to the business end now. Hold onto your seats =D

Just warning you now, it is kind of unrealistic to have about an party of 30-40 people take on a few hundred superhuman morphs and have zero casualties. This means that there WILL be a few fatalities in this chapter.

o0o

o0o

o0o

**_Chapter 18: Battle of the Dread Isle: Sparks and Sorrow_**

It was well past ten o'clock in the morning when everyone was up and about again. Keen to hear from Fargus about their route to the Dread Isle, Eliwood and Hector immediately went to the mail room to see if they got a reply. Fortunately, Fargus had received their letter and replied quickly, telling them that he could take them to Dread Isle in three days time.

Knowing that being miserable will not help their cause, both Eliwood and Hector put on their normal facades. Eliwood tried to be as friendly as he could, but after a while, he just could not hold his composure any more and would occasionally start grieving for Ninian again. Hector, on the hand, acted as nothing had happened. Any clue that his brother had passed away was buried deep in his heart, never exposed to the public.

After receiving Fargus' letter, the pair decided to go down and discuss their plans. Summoning Marcus, Oswin and Merlinus, Eliwood and Hector met in the dining room.

"It would be best if we outfitted ourselves before setting out," suggested Marcus. "Valor is a desolate place, we'll need all the supplies we need if we are to have a full-scale assault on Dread Isle." They all believed that he made sense.

"We should just stock up here, then," adviced Hector. "I'm sure Ostia is better stocked than Badon. We can just empty the coffers here, sell any treasures we need to sell and then head off to Valor." Oswin coughed loudly to remind him that they he could not overspend. Hector shot him a cold stare, as if to remind him of his brother's death and to shut him up.

"This will be in our limits, of course," he continued a laugh. "This money is coming from the Ostian budget, after all, so I won't make the same mistake I did with Farina, I promise. Let's say, thirty thousand gold pieces should be enough to get our supplies, right?" Oswin nodded in agreement and relief.

"That seems like a reasonable amount," he concurred quietly, without looking into Hector's eyes, knowing that he would find fire in them. Satisfied with the arrangements, Eliwood, Hector and their friends all went to the nearby armouries to pick off their supplies.

As Eliwood walked alongside Hector's seemingly cheerful form, he could not help but feel uneasy. Unlike most of the others, he had known Hector since he was a little boy. He was familiar with virtually all of Hector's various moods, as unbelievable as it may sound. While he saw Hector frolicking around and acting as if nothing has happened, for some reason, he thought that it seemed too forced. 'What is wrong with him," he thought to himself. 'Could it be that something has happened to him, but he doesn't want to tell us what happened? Aye, when he's upset, he's always like this, pretending that nothing is wrong. Maybe nothing _is_ wrong? Or could it be my own insecurity from losing Ninian that's causing me to think this way?' Thinking of Ninian again, he could help but feel his heart filling up with melancholy again. While he felt suspicious at how cheerful Hector was acting, he was nevertheless envious. Here we was, mourning the death of his loved one while Hector was fooling around, sometimes with Farina, sometimes with Lyn, sometimes with Serra, as if he was gloating at him. 'No,' he finally decided. 'Hector would never do this if he was fine. He would never act happy if he knew I was grieving. Something must have happened to him that he doesn't want to share with me.'

Suddenly, he bumped into Nils. Dread and shame filled him instantly. "Nils," he whispered apologetically. "I'm sorry, are you alright?" Looking up seeing that it was Eliwood, Nils turned and walked away. Flooded with guilt, Eliwood caught up to him.

"Nils, please listen to what I have to say," he pleaded as he gripped the smaller boy's hand. Looking at him with immeasurable anguish in his eyes, Nils shook his head and pulled his hand away.

"What's happened, has happened," he whispered. "Why bring up the past again, Lord Eliwood?" He turned to walk away again.

Sighing with guilt and his own grief, Eliwood could only watch Nils walk away with despair. As they reached the market, Hector wrote up a list of materials needed and ordered Merlinus and the others to go and get them. It was finally a time to loosen their legs and have fun, something the group has not been able to do in a long, long time.

"Ostia's castle town is as impressive as ever," marveled Marcus. "There are shops and items of all types imaginable." Hector became proud when he heard this.

"For generations," he explained. "Our ancestors dedicated themselves to a sort of frugal militarism. The nobles and commoners alike shunned extravagance. 'Corrupt neither the body or the mind,' they cried! Since the time of Roland, this has been the dominant ideology of Ostia." Marcus nodded in acknowledgement.

"I heard that when Lord Uther first participated in the Lycian Council," he continued, while Hector shuddered on the inside with reference to his brother's name. "He gave a scathing indictment of the peer system. Now I understand, his philosophy had its roots in the in the history of Ostia itself."

Hector let out a small sigh, but recovered quickly. "That's right," he pressed on. "Yet this thinking threatens the lifestyles of many aristocrats. Due to this, many groups view my brother with enmity. I must grow wiser so that I can sit at my brother's side and aid him. Of course, my fighting skills are not yet what they should be. Anyway, this isn't the place for that kind of talk, we have to get going, come on!" As he finished saying this, a soldier appeared next to him with the gold that he ordered. Keen on distracting himself from his worries, Hector immediately went off to buy the supplies.

As Hector was rushing off, he heard someone calling him: "Lord Hector, can I have a word?" Turning around, he scowled as he saw that it was Oswin.

"What is it?" he said impatiently but quietly so only Oswin can hear.. "You know I'm not pleased with you."

Oswin sighed guiltily. "About last night..." he began when Hector raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't worry about it," he told Oswin. "No matter how much clamour I raise, my brother is dead. All I can do now is put on a strong face and try not to distract Eliwood and the others." Oswin nodded. His lord was not a fool, after all.

"But Oswin," he hissed dangerously. "I will not forgive you, nor my brother. Why did you have to hide this from me, and _only_ me? Am I so untrustworthy?" While Oswin could take any abuse aimed at him by Hector, seeing that the young lord could start cursing Lord Uther at any time, he had to step in.

"Lord Hector," he replied. "You may hate me, scorn me, even kill me, I would take all of it without regret. However, the last message I received from Lord Uther ordered that, should he die, I must keep the news from you. Please don't doubt his intentions or pile any of this on his head."

Hector looked confused and angry. "But... why?" he asked. "Is it because he thought that I would abandon the big picture?"

Oswin sighed and continued: "This is what was written in Lord Uther's letter: 'He is true to his own feelings, if asked to choose between his brother and the world, he would not hesitate coming back to my side. Although he often gets angry with me, we are still brothers and we are all we have. I have never doubted his affection, but what if the choice was between his brother and his friend? Choosing one would mean abandoning the other. He would hate himself, whatever the choice he makes. I cannot not force him to make such a decision'."

Hector finally understood and sighed deeply. His brother had cared for him even on his deathbed, and he could not help but feel grateful to his kindness. Guilt also welled up as he remembered how ungratefully he had always treated his brother. Remembering the pain Nino went through to decide whether she wanted to help her stepbrother or her friends at the Shrine of Seals and unable to hide his emotions any more, he could not stop a tear slowly falling down his face.

"Lord Uther had your feelings foremost in his heart," Oswin went on. "He was also considering Eliwood, who had lost his father. Please, if nothing else, understand this." Wiping the tear from his face with his hand, Hector nodded.

"Fine," he conceded. "I see what he's getting at... let's just concentrate on getting the things we need."

As Hector ran into the market with Oswin and Marcus, Lyn watched him with admiration. Turning to Eliwood, she whispered: "Curious... Hector acts like such a brute, but he takes his duties so seriously."

Nodding, Eliwood turned to face her. "Hector is a man of firm character and I've always admired him for that. He has a great knack at concealing any doubts he feels about himself or his actions."

"Yeah," agreed Lyn. "I'm a little envious too, envious that he does not second-guess what he must do. I wouldn't hesitate about anything concerning my grandfather's health, in fact, I'd be happy to do anything I could. I thought I was all alone in the world after my tribe was murdered, and now that I've found my family, I don't want to lose him." Closing his eyes, Eliwood could not agree more.

"Of course," he said. "I can't bear to think of losing my mother. Come to think of it, she's the only one I have left now." Thinking of her family, Lyn could not help but be nostalgic. Memories of her mother and father, who had loved each other so much and cared for her most of all came flooding into her mind. 'All of that just had to be taken away...' she sighed in her head.

"Nothing is more important than family..." she mused. "Yet in my heart, the plains still call me, the never ending oceans of grass, the memory of that scent alone is enough to make me weak. Well, I guess we must first deal with the menace that is before us. If we can't stop Nergal, we'll lose everything dear to us." She started walking away to help gather the supplies needed.

As he heard "everything dear to us", Eliwood could not help but feel sad again. 'I've lost so much already, even if I do lose to Nergal, I would not be losing much more anyway...' he thought.

o0o

As Eliwood walked through the market, he took a stroll past the arena where something caught his eye. Bartre was in a battle with a pretty female swordmaster and long black hair and a lean, athletic figure. 'What is he doing,' thought Eliwood. 'We're busy getting ourselves supplies, and he's wasting his time fighting a woman? How disgraceful.' He was walking halfway to where they were fighting when they put down their weapons.

"Oh, it looks like you've improved," noted the woman cheerfully. "So tell me, where have you been training?" Seeing that the two knew each other, Eliwood decided to wait on the side and watch what unfolded.

"I serve Lord Eliwood," growled Bartre. "I'm working as his guard! Tough enemies come everyday, but we just tear 'em up and toss them aside!" Smiling, the woman brushed her hair.

"Haha, how interesting," she laughed. "If that's the case, I think I'll join your group. My brother gravitates toward strong warriors. This little journey of yours sounds like a dangerous one. Joining you might help me find him."

Bartre was dumbfounded. "What the hell are you talking about?" he stammered. "What about out duel?" Turning around, the woman pointed at his nose and pressed hard on it.

"We'll put it on hold for now," she said sweetly. "Don't worry, I don't run away. I like you, it would quite a waste to kill you here. Someday I will finish you in the appropriate fashion!" Laughing heartily, Bartre shook hands with her.

"Alright then!" he boomed. "You are now my sworn enemy, wench!"

Stepping forward, Eliwood asked what the commotion was about. The woman's name was Karla, and she was Karel's younger sister. When Bartre was younger, he had foolishly challenged Karla to a duel in the Western Isles, where he was promptly defeated in one stroke. Taking pity on the amateur Bartre, Karla handed him over to a motel manager where he was nursed back to health. Furious at his loss, Bartre trained himself harder than ever, until he met Eliwood and joined him in Pherae. Karla was looking for Karel when Bartre found her again in Ostia. Hungry to avenge his loss at her hands, Bartre challenged her again. Karla did not want to fight him, but she did not want to deny him revenge. After about thirty exchanges, she was impressed by Bartre's improvement and decided to join him.

o0o

After three hours of shopping, Eliwood and his friends finally decided that they had enough materials to launch an offensive on Nergal.

"Eliwood," called Hector as they were leaving. "I left something at the castle. You go on ahead, I'll catch up shortly." Striding up to the castle, he suddenly felt empty. The castle had always been a place where his brother was, every time he would return expecting to chided by Lord Uther. This time, the castle was his, no longer just an occupant, but the owner. The walk home as the Marquess' brother was considerably different to the one as the future Marquess. Knowing he had no time to spare, he marched quickly into the throne room. When his brother sat on the throne, it looked magnificent. Now, it looked like a small chair, fit for a little child.

"Even on the verge of death, you worried about me..." he muttered to himself. "Blast!" he exclaimed. "You were always like that, hey big brother? I never asked it of you, yet you did it nonetheless, like a father, with that know-it-all look. I've always told you: 'Don't treat me like a kid', but you never listened." He slapped the throne angrily. His deepest regret was being unable to show his brother that he had grown up.

"I'm coming back," he continued. "I'll take care of Nergal and his threat to this world. I'll be back, and I'll take the throne. I may not be as dependable as you, big brother, but even so, together we'll make Ostia and all of Lycia a place of peace. We'll put an end to peerage and make an Ostia where all are equal. We'll try our best, so watch and see, big brother!" With that, he walked back out of the castle to join Eliwood and the others.

o0o

Meanwhile, at the Dragon's Gate, Nergal walked quickly toward the altar. "Welcome home, master," called Limstella as she waited for him to return. Smiling, Nergal pulled a small, blue stone from his pocket.

"Limstella, look at this," he snickered. "It's the children's dragonstone. I will infuse it with quintessence." Drawing on his power, he pushed quintessence into his hand and absorbed the dragonstone into himself. His body glowed for a couple of seconds and then lightning crackled around him. Laughing triumphantly, he pointed his hand at the Dragon's Gate. Light began to flow from the edges of the gate.

"The dragon girl... Ninian's essence," mused Nergal. "Beautiful, absolutely beautiful, both aesthetically and in utility. With this, I can call the dragons whenever I please." Delighted that her master had gained such an ability, Limstella could not hide her artificially constructed excitement.

"Shall we begin the process right away?" Nergal shook his head.

"Not yet, my child, patience," he said. "I lost some quintessence from that blow I took from Athos' attack. To summon the number of dragons I need, I must have more essence. One must be fully prepared when dealing with dragons. If they wrested free from my control and killed me, all would be for naught."

"I fear to report," Limstella cut in. "The quintessence from all Black Fang members have been used. Where would we get more essence from?" Nergal closed his eyes and shook his head while smiling at the same time.

"Hmph," he snorted. "All the materials we need are heading our way right now. Eliwood and his friends, hehehe, I will crush them, steal their essences and call forth my glorious dragons!" His laugh lasted well into the night.

o0o

On the way to the Dread Isle, Eliwood kept to his room on the Davros. The initial shock of losing Ninian had passed, now all he had was ruins. He did not dare to sleep, knowing that every time he fell asleep, Ninian would appear in it.

"How could you betray me?" she would accuse him in his dreams. "You promised... you promised me! I gave up everything for you, yet you killed me without hesitation! I knew it was wrong to trust you!"

"No!" Eliwood would reply every time. "I truly did not mean it, Ninian! I'm so sorry, please forgive me..." It would be a futile begging, however, as she would look at him with an unfathomable rage every time, causing him to wake up in cold sweat.

Struggling to pick up the pieces, he could not help but remember when they found Ninian drifting along the same strip of ocean that they were currently travelling through. He remembered how she had lost her memory and could not help wishing that he could do the same. Seeing Hector walking around like nothing has happened, he could not but feel envious. 'Something terrible had obviously happened to him,' thought Eliwood. 'How is Hector able to swallow his grief while I cannot?'

Concerned for Eliwood, Lyn had brought a plate of food into his room. As she walked in, she saw Eliwood standing at the window, looking out at blank space.

"Are you alright Eliwood?" asked Lyn. Eliwood was still deep in reflection and did not answer.

Instead, he asked Lyn in return: "Do you remember, Lyndis, the last time we were on this ship, sailing to Valor to find my father?" Lyn nodded.

"Almost as clearly as yesterday," she replied.

Finally turning around to face her, Eliwood continued: "Last time we were here, we found Ninian drifting away from Dread Isle. I wonder what would have happened if we let her go. While it would have been irresponsible, I wonder how much suffering that we endured would still have been endured. Alas, such is our cruel fate..." He took the plate of food from Lyn with a heavy heart, as it reminded of how Ninian used to do the same.

"Still," he went on. "We have to focus on the bigger task at hand, don't we Lyndis? I'm actually quite concerned for Hector." Lyn looked rather confused.

"What's wrong with Hector?" she asked. "He seems to be just fine, like he normally is. You should worry more about yourself, you have had way too much tragedies happen to you in these past month or so."

Grateful to Lyn's concern, Eliwood nodded. However, he had already lost his father and Ninian, he did not want to see any more of his friends suffer for his sake.

"You haven't known Hector for as long as I have," he sighed. "While it appears that he is just fine, I can tell that something is wrong. His current expression seemed too well... forced. When he's unhappy, he'll never show it. Think about it Lyndis, I have just lost someone dear to me. If you were Hector, would you be happy in front of me?" Lyn pondered this and thought Eliwood made sense.

"Of course not," she replied. "That would be highly insensitive." Eliwood nodded.

"That's right," he pressed on. "I'm quite sure something horrible has happened to him, but he doesn't want us to know because he doesn't want to be a burden on us. Ever since we arrived in Ostia, he has been acting strangely. Could it be that something happened in Ostia? Lyndis, could you do me a favour and ask Oswin to see me please?"

Oswin was surprised when Lyn told him that Eliwood wanted to see him. He had been expecting Hector. Heeding Eliwood's summon and curious on what the red-head wanted him for, he quickly made his way to the young lord's room.

"You wanted to see me, Lord Eliwood?" he asked courteously. Turning around to face him, Eliwood got straight to the point.

"Yes Oswin, I did," he replied. "How's Hector doing? Something happened, hasn't it?"

Oswin felt as though he had just been hit by a brick wall. 'Another interrogation,' he groaned inside. Reliving the memories of the past few days, he felt horribly uncomfortable.

"Lord Hector is fine," he replied calmly. "Why do you ask?" Eliwood did not answer straight away and paced around the room.

"He's acting as if nothing has happened, yet, I know somehow. That's how Hector has always been since he was a child. This is the way he always acts when something's troubling him. Oswin, you don't need to lie to me. I'm here to help him." Oswin could not help but admire Eliwood's friendship to Hector. Even after going through so much himself, he was concerned for his friend. Seeing the look on Oswin's face, Eliwood confirmed that he was right.

"Hector forbade you to tell me, didn't he?" he added softly. "I understand. I won't force you against his will." Oswin closed his eyes and sighed.

"Lord Eliwood," he began. "He has not forbidden me to tell. Since you are looking out for his well-being, I have no reason to lie to you. Lord Uther... has unfortunately passed away."

Hearing this, Eliwood's eyes dilated to their maximum size. He was amazed that Hector could hide such a huge loss from everyone in the way he did.

"How?" he asked. "I thought he was away in Etruria?"

Oswin shook his head. "That was a ruse concocted by Lord Uther to try and hide the truth from him," he explained. "You see, Lord Uther had been sick for quite a few months now, but has always hid it from Lord Hector to stop him worrying. He knew that if Lord Hector found out about his position, Lord Hector would have to make an impossible decision to abandon his brother or his friend and cause him a lifetime of regret. Therefore, he ordered me to hide it from Lord Hector even if he should die, at least until our mission was over. Unfortunately, Lord Hector was wise enough to put together all the pieces and worked out the truth. To put it frankly, his fury was terrible to behold, both at me and at his brother." Eliwood closed his eyes and shook his head. Hector was as stubborn as ever.

"If we make it through this," he said finally. "I'll talk to Hector about it and I'll get him to forgive you, Oswin. Don't be harsh on yourself, the fault is not yours alone." Oswin nodded his acknowledgement.

"Thank you, Lord Eliwood," he showed his gratitude while leaving the room.

As Eliwood watched Oswin leave the room, he felt empty again. Distracting himself with his friends or with fighting seemed to ease his pain, he realised. With nothing to do, he decided to take out his sword and start practising his swordplay. 'My swordplay is getting predictable,' he thought to himself. 'I need to come up with some new stances or variations.' Along with this train of thought, he tried to find some inspiration to cook up some new movements. Thinking for a while, he finally found it. 'I killed Ninian with my own two hands,' he thought. 'Every time I've thought about it these few days, I have become miserable,' he thought. 'It would probably be better if I just took the inescapable truth head on.' With this in mind, he decided to incorporate Nils and Ninian's dance moves into his swordplay. While he cannot channel energy like they can, he nevertheless was able to work out about five or six new stances that he could use in his swordplay in about four hours of serious contemplation. Satisfied with what he had achieved, he named the new stances as a set, called the 'Dragon Dancing Swordplay'.

o0o

After sailing for two days, the Davros finally landed on Dread Isle for a second time. The last time they were here, they were stepping into the unknown. This time, they were prepared for everything. It was the difference between being dragged to your death and holding your heads up high, although death was uncertain.

"Well, we've arrived!" called Fargus cheerfully as Eliwood thanked him. "Now mateys, no need to worry about our service. Are you sure you don't any of our help from here? Fargus' pirate crew makes women smile and villains revile! We could prove helpful."

Grateful to Fargus' offer, Eliwood replied: "Thanks for your offer, but from here, we go alone. We don't want any more people to suffer for our sake." For my sake, he added in his own head. Before they boarded the Davros, Eliwood told the group that whoever wanted to leave should leave and that he, nor anyone in the group would blame them. Surprisingly for him, but unsurprisingly for everyone else, no-one wanted to leave. After going through so many hardships with him, why would they abandon him at the time that he needed them the most?

"We don't have any idea what will happen," added Hector. "We'd like you to deliver a message to our families, if you would."

Lyn nodded. "Even if we successfully defeat Nergal, there's no telling we'll survive the battle," she said. Eliwood nudged her.

"Hey, why so pessimistic?" he chided in. "If we don't return, we'll apologise for the inconvenience."

Seeing these valiant young people take a last stand against the biggest threat to the world, Fargus smiled with satisfaction.

"I'll worry about that when the time comes, don't you worry," he assured them.

Eliwood nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you Fargus. Another thing, about Nils..." He looked at the boy with concern. Nils, who was staring at the sea without looking at anything turned around as his name was mentioned.

"I know," nodded Fargus. "I'll take responsibility for him."

"Nils?" called Lyn. "We'll be going, now, take care of yourself." Hector ran up and held him into the air.

"We're going to shatter Nergal's ambitions and bring him down!" he told Nils excitedly. "You wait here until we get back, okay?" Nils looked at him blankly, as if knowing that Hector's seeming confidence was just a facade and merely just a desperate man giving himself false hope. Eliwood stepped forward, knelt down and put his hands on Nils' shoulders. He looked Nils directly in the eyes. As he looked at them, he could only feel regret and sadness, since they were exactly the same as the ones Ninian had.

"Nils," he began. "I don't think you'll ever forgive no matter how I apologise, and I understand, but please hear me out. Our power is no match for Nergal, but even so, we can't give up. I have to fulfill Ninian's wish and my own vow that I made. The world needs our protection. I will never, ever, flee from that duty. So, I want you to face reality as well. It doesn't have to be now, but when you're past the pain. When you've recovered, please go with Fargus to find the village in Nabata. You will be safe there. I'm quite sure that's what Ninian would want, too." Turning to leave, he addressed Fargus one last time.

"Okay, Fargus, we're going. May we meet each other again," he saluted.

Fargus returned the salute. "Don't mess this one up, pups!"

As the young lords were leaving along with their followers, Fargus suddenly called out: "Ahoy, Dart! Hold on a moment." Dart turned to face his captain, the man who had virtually raised him since he left home. Was Fargus telling him to stay behind? If he did, would he go with Eliwood, Rebecca and the others, or would he stay with his captain?

"What is it captain?" he asked. Fargus was silent for about half a minute, as he and Dart stared at each other. "Don't come back dead." he said finally. Dart thought he was going to ask him to stay, or say something extremely important. He didn't expect his captain's words to be so trivial.

"Heh heh, is that it?" he laughed. "Of course I'm not going to die! You saved my life five years back, if I went and lost it now, you'd have my hide for a rug! I'll do whatever it takes to come back alive!" Seeing his youngest crew's jolly reaction, Fargus felt reassured.

"Aye, is that so?" he smirked. "You'd better watch after those whelps, too!"

"Aye aye, captain!" replied Dart as he followed the rest of the group.

Seeing Eliwood and friends march toward destiny, Fargus could only feel a twinge of reluctance to see them go. He hoped with all his heart that they will return. 'Such valiant heroes are so rare in this world,' he thought. 'If they die, the world would truly have lost some exceptional young talent.' Placing his large hand on Nils' shoulder, he steered the boy towards the ship.

"Well then, time to get back on board and wait. C'mon, lad." Watching the group leave, Nils did not know what to do. While Eliwood had killed Ninian, Nils could not bring himself to condemn him. After all, Eliwood had always placed his and Ninian's best interests before his own and never wronged her in any way. His mistake was purely unintentional, and it could really only be blamed on fate, or on Nergal, who forced everything upon them. The more Nils pondered Eliwood's final words to him, the more ashamed he became. Here he was, hiding in Fargus' protection, possibly endangering his crew, while the one who genuinely cared about him and his sister was out there risking his life saving the world. However, now that he had remained by Fargus' side, he knew that the pirate captain would not let him go out alone.

"Uh-oh," he suddenly heard Fargus say. "I was supposed to give something important." Nils turned his head to look at him, raising his eyebrow in the process.

"What is it?" he asked. Fargus repeatedly slapped his own face with his palm.

"It's something that'll be come real handy in battle," he explained. Pulling a rather valuable looking stone out of his pocket, Nils gasped. It was an Earth Seal.

"I can't believe I forgot," continued Fargus. "There isn't nothing much I can do apart from send someone after them, I suppose." Nils could not believe his luck. Maybe God did have eyes after all.

"I'll go," he volunteered immediately. Fargus was rather taken aback. Just five minutes ago, the boy looked so miserable that he looked like he was on the verge of suicide. He found it rather hard to believe that the boy was now past his misery and was volunteering to deliver his package. Could it be that the boy simply wanted to escape from him?

"Oh, you sure you can do it?" he asked. "You're not volunteering so you can get away from me, right?" Nils smiled back at him. He seemed have changed.

"Of course not," he replied. "It's what Ninian would want. I'll take the Earth Seal to Lord Eliwood." Giving him the Earth Seal, Fargus bade Nils goodbye.

"That's a relief," he said. "Live and return, whelp!"

o0o

At the Dragon's Gate, Nergal was preparing to open the Dragon's Gate. Sensing a large amount of quintessence heading his way, he smiled with satisfaction.

"So they're coming..." he mused to himself. Turning to Limstella, he ordered: "Go, Limstella, go and bring their quintessence to me. I have given you magic stronger than any seen on the continent. Through this magic, you are the most powerful of my morphs, perfect in strength and beauty. You are my masterpiece, Limstella." Being a morph, Limstella had no way of reacting to praise. She merely nodded as she received her orders.

"Your flesh cannot endure the power of this sorcery," continued Nergal. "Before tomorrow, your entire body will be corrupted, but this is what you desire, yes? The chance to die for me?" While a morph, Limstella still felt something was wrong when Nergal told her that she was never going to see her master again, but as a morph, she did not question her orders.

"As you wish," she replied with an expression closest to what humans called regret, disappearing at once.

o0o

Marching towards Dragon's Gate, Eliwood and his friends were surprised at the lack of resistance. They had already walked past where Uhai and Teodor ambushed them, and were closing on Dragon's Gate quickly.

"We've gotten here without much trouble," noted Hector. "I wonder when Graybeard would show up? What do you want to do, sit down and wait?" Eliwood looked thoughtfully. Without Athos, they could not get the Divine Weapons back, and without them, they had no way of fighting Nergal.

Before he could answer, a familiar voice called out to him: "Lord Eliwood, look out! Move!" Adrenaline pumping, Eliwood did not question who had warned him, but moved to the side immediately. As soon as he moved out of the spot, a bolt of lightning struck where he stood just half a second earlier. Looking around, his face shown in delight and relief as he saw Nils run towards him.

"Nils, you came!" he called.

"I did," replied Nils. "I can't run away any more. I'll take Ninian's place and do her part, no her part and mine! I'll fight with you, and we'll change the course of fate!" Hector happily slapped him on the back.

"Well spoken! Now you sound like a true man!" Eliwood could only kneel down and hug the boy.

"You'll forgive me?" he asked. Nils closed his eyes and hugged him back.

"I've never blamed you, Lord Eliwood," he answered. "I'm sorry for making you worry about me." Pulling out of Eliwood's arms, and turned around and called out: "Now, stop skulking and come out! I know you're there!" The young lords looked confused, but started to look at a spot where Nils was staring. A moment later, there was a flash of light and a tall, slender woman appeared.

"Ah! Who is that?" Lyn exclaimed.

"Limstella," answered Nils. "The one who is always at Nergal's side." As Lyn saw that the woman's appearance was similar to Sonia, she did not let down her guard.

"Ebony hair, gold pupils..." she noted. "You're a morph, aren't you?" Paying her no heed, Limstella turned to Eliwood.

"Lord Eliwood of Pharae," she hissed loudly. "I've come for your quintessence. Come out, my humble servants!" Waving her hand, a rumbling sound started. Looking over her shoulder, Eliwood shuddered as he saw about two hundred morphs appear, armed and ready for battle, marching toward them. Smiling mysteriously, Limstella pointed at them.

"I will take your life and your essence," she declared. "All for the sake of my master." Immediately, she stretched out her hand and focussed her power.

"Look out!" called Hector and pushed Eliwood out of the way as Limstella fired deadly lightning bolts.

"I will be waiting to collect your essence," she called as she disappeared. As the incoming horde of morphs closed in, the group immediately went into their battle formations.

"We're going to have fight our way through!" called Hector. "Prepare for battle, everyone!" Eliwood ordered Sain, Kent, Dorcas, Geitz, Rebecca, Dart, Lucius, Raven, Priscilla, Marcus, Lowen, Isadora and Harken to join as a group. The second group was to consist of the three pegasus sisters, Serra, Erk, Matthew, Oswin, Rath, Bartre, Karla, Karel and Guy. Finally the remaining fighters formed the third group, which consisted of Wallace, Wil, Canas, Legault, Heath, Hawkeye, Pent, Louise, Nino, Jaffar and Vaida. The lords and Nils went along with the third group.

"He hasn't called any dragons yet," noted Nils. "If we win now, we might still have time to stop him!" Eliwood nodded. He, Hector and Lyn went into their usual formation, but now with Nils in the middle instead of Ninian.

"Lord Eliwood!" called Nils. "I have something for you." Reaching into his pocket and picking out the Earth Seal, he handed it to Eliwood.

"It's an Earth Seal!" gasped Eliwood. "Where did you get this from?"

"Fargus told me to give it to you," Nils answered. Grateful to the pirate captain, Eliwood drew the power out of the Earth Seal and shared it among the group.

In their triangle formation and Nils in the middle, Eliwood, Lyn and Hector charged toward the incoming morphs. Even though Eliwood is usually defensive by nature, seeing the morphs made his blood boil. Knowing that Nergal had to be stopped at all costs and how he vowed to avenge Ninian or dying trying, he attacked the morphs without any regard to his own safety. This surprised Nils, who hastily channelled energy towards him from the other two lords. He would use his regular swordplay, quickly switch to his newfound sword style, the Dragon Dancing Swordplay and then back again. Hector and Lyn had trouble keeping up with Eliwood's new fighting style, but with Nils' help, they were able to defend effectively. With Hector's intrinsically offensive style, the group of lords progressed relatively quickly, while occasionally falling back to help other people in the group that have gotten themselves into trouble.

While Eliwood and his friends were progressing towards Dragon's Gate, a rather elegant looking bishop stepped out from the ruins. It was Renault, the same one that had scolded them during the fight against Aion.

"You are all so noisy..." he ranted frustratedly. "I thought I could finally get some peace and quiet here on the Dread Isle."

Eliwood felt rather embarassed. "I'm sorry, your excellency," he started. "But..." Renault lifted his hand to stop him.

"I'm not interested on why you're fighting," he continued. "I am only looking for some tranquility. If helping you will bring it to me, then I'll lend you my power, though I doubt it would do anything." Stepping out of the ruins, he moved quickly and started firing powerful bursts of light at incoming morphs. He was so fast that Eliwood and his friends could hardly keep up with his movements. His magic was also powerful enough to take out each morph in one hit. They were surprised that they had never heard of this master before. With increased confidence, Eliwood and the others continued forward in their formation and slowly made their way toward the entrance of the Dragon's Gate.

Eliwood chose the groups in which he believed the members shared the greatest affinity with each other. For example, he knew Pent would never leave Louise's side, while he knew the three pegasus sisters were renowned for their triangle formation. Just like he predicted, the teams that he picked stuck extremely close to each other. Pent and Louise stayed by each other's side, while protected by Hawkeye, allowing them to take out morphs from afar while Hawkeye took out morphs that got too close. Serra, Matthew and Oswin clustered together with Erk, while Karel, Karla and Guy formed a trinity of swordmasters. Bartre hung around Karla, making sure nobody killed her before he gets the chance to avenge his loss. Nino fired her magic from a distance while Legault and Jaffar cut down morphs by the score. Heath and Vaida, the exiled wyvern lords from Bern, fought side-by-side, and were supporting the pegasus sisters in the air. They also held up Delphi Shields so archers could not catch them off guard. Rebecca fired arrows as Dart smashed down enemies with his axe, while Geitz would support them both with his axe, as well as supporting them with his bow. As the remaining knights of Pherae, Marcus, Isadora, Harken and Lowen fought together in a formation, Harken remaining especially close to Isadora. All in all, a rather chaotic battle with many of them clustered into smaller groups.

As Hawkeye, Pent and Louise's group was passing some ruins, a pretty, purple haired girl stepped out and called out to them.

"Archsage?" she called. Startled by the sudden appearance, some of the fighters in the group aimed their weapons at her. Hawkeye, however, lifted his hand in the air and motioned for them to stop.

"Sophia?" he asked. Sophia was a girl who lived in Arcadia, the hidden village in Nabata.

"Yes," she answered. "Sorry for mistaking you. I wanted to speak to the Archsage. He's not here, is he?" Hawkeye shook his head.

"The Archsage is out a mission, and we will rendezvous with him at the Dragon's Gate." he told her.

Sophia looked disappointed. She pulled out a taslisman from her pocket. "Uh, okay, do you need this?" she asked. "For the future, please don't lose, if the light is strong enough, it can dispel the darkness." Hawkeye took the talisman in his hand gratefully.

"Thank you, Sophia," he said in gratitude. "I will be sure to pass that to someone who needs it. Tell my daughter that I'll be back." Sophia nodded, and disappeared.

The battle raged on. With the help of Renault, the morphs were quickly being annihilated, but Eliwood and his friends were not immune to casualties. Wil's arm was blasted by Limstella's long range lightning attack, but fortunately survived. Lowen was knocked out by an opposing warrior morph's hammer, Hawkeye broke his leg as an opposing horse stepped on it, while Geitz was stabbed in the stomach by a spear. However, some were not as lucky. Wallace was killed as a druid morph sucked out his life with the Nosferatu spell, Dorcas' neck was slashed by a sword-wielding morph, while Kent was killed when a Tomahawk caught him in the forehead. Overcome by grief, Sain went on a blind charge, only to be stabbed in the right chest with a spear. Fortunately for him, he was saved by a passing Oswin, who fended off the attacker long enough for Priscilla to pull Sain out and tend to his wounds.

As the battle reached three hours, Eliwood, Hector, Lyn and Nils were starting to feel fatigue wear in. They decided to press on faster so they will not have to endure the lactic acid build up too much more. Suddenly, they heard a scream from above them. Fiora's pegasus was hit by one of Limstella's long distance lightning bolts and started accelerating towards the ground. Thrown off the back by her dying pegasus, she attempted to hold onto something, anything, but the only thing there was was air.

"Fiora!" yelled Farina. Forgetting about the battle, she quickly steered her pegasus toward her falling sister, hand reaching out to grab her. Her pegasus was faster than Fiora's, bought for a higher price, but as fast as it may be, nothing could catch up with gravity's powerful pull. Her hand reached within one metre of Fiora's before the falling one continued to speed up. Adrenaline pumping, Farina jumped from her pegasus with her legs locked around her pegasus' neck to try and catch her sister. Reaching her sister's hand, Farina let out a sigh of relief as she caught Fiora about ten metres from the ground. However, just a fraction of second later, her relief was replaced by a scream of agony and horror. The downward speed that Fiora was hurtling down at was just much too fast, it dislocated her right shoulder and forced her to let go. Travelling the last ten metres of her fall, Fiora sighed with acceptance, thinking: 'My squad, I will finally join you', before hitting the ground with a sickening crunch.

The pain of her dislocated shoulder distracted enough for Farina to lose her grip on her pegasus and started falling. Luckily, Florina was also flying towards Fiora from a much further distance and while she was unable to catch Fiora, she was able to slow down Farina before she met the same fate. Ignoring the pain in her upper limb, Farina sprinted up to Fiora and held her close.

"Healer!" she called desperately. "Will someone please help!" With all her limbs crushed by from the fall, Fiora struggled to remain alive. Eliwood and the others arrived, shock tearing through their hearts. Pent arrived with his best staff and started shifting energy into Fiora, but the injury was far too severe to be repaired.

"Farina," she whispered. "Please forgive... your foolish sister. I have not cared for you... as I should have." As she finished speaking, her head drooped and her life expired.

Shock and pain tore through Farina, both in mentally and physically. "No!" she cried. Holding Fiora's body with her remaining arm, she bawled into her sister's bosom.

"You have always looked after me, yet I treated you like trash," she wailed. "Why can't it be me, the ungrateful one to die?" Florina was also weeping in sorrow next to her sister. Unlike Farina, she always treated her older sister like her mother. Seeing her passing, she could not help but grieve, but did not feel Farina's guilt. Standing up and staring at the faraway morphs with pure loathing in her eyes, Farina picked up her spear with her left hand.

"None of you will remain alive after what you have done to my sister!" she cried. As she charged at the morph, however, the pain of her dislocated shoulder finally caught up and she doubled over in pain.

"Farina!" called Hector as he rushed up to pull her back. "You have to calm down! You're injured. Don't go and throw away your life in vain!" Forgetting herself in her rage, she did not care that Hector was only trying to help her and tried to slap him with her right hand, but only failing and adding more pain to her shoulder.

"Get away," she spat. "You have no idea how I feel now." Sighing, Hector could only think about how he had lost his own brother and how he reacted.

"Calm down Farina," he whispered in her ear. "I lost my brother just a few days ago in Ostia. I was an ungrateful brother, I think I know exactly how you feel now." Looking up with hot tears in her eyes, Farina only look up in horror, then buried herself in his chest, weeping uncontrollably.

Only a few hundred metres away, Limstella was still firing deadly lightning magic from where she stood.

"Lord Pent," called Hector. "Could I leave Farina and Florina to you? We have a battle to win, here." Pent nodded and immediately went to relocate Farina's shoulder. Eliwood, Hector and Lyn charged at Limstella, hoping to end the already costly battle. Seeing the lords approach her, she started firing ice magic at them. Weaving and dodging out of the way, the lords slowly surrounded Limstella and started attacking her in formation. Limstella moved like a ghost, appearing and disappearing, continually making the lords defend as she fired freezing magic at them. Eliwood attacked forward with the Dragon Dancing Swordplay, causing Limstella to dodge to the side, only to be met with Lyn's 'Wind Blowing on the Grass'. Alarmed at how much the lords have improved, Limstella decided to go on the offensive and release lightning from one hand while firing ice from the other. Having his axe hit by lightning, Hector's arm immediately went numb from the electric shock. Seeing this opportunity, Limstella curled her hand into a claw and bared down on the weakened formation, attacking Hector. Suddenly, a burst of high powered light magic hit her arm and forced her to retreat.

"Filthy abomination!" called Renault. "You're a creation of that demon, Nergal, aren't you? I have pledged to wipe scum such as yourselves from the Earth. Prepare to taste the power of God!" Leaping toward Limstella, he raised his palms and released burst after burst of light at her. Seeing that Renault was more powerful than the others, Limstella quickly leapt away and gathered her power. Countering with her devastating ice magic, she was able to neutralise Renault's attacks, but not enough to launch a counter-strike. The lords and everyone around them watched in awe as they saw two powerful magicians do battle. While not nearly as powerful as Athos, Renault had been a bishop of the St. Elimine Church for many years, his magical power was refined to near-perfection. As a member of the St. Elimine Church, he had also learnt numerous spells that St. Elimine herself passed down over the centuries. Each of his attacks contained huge amounts of pure energy. Limstella weaved around and dodged, while firing off attacks of her own. She was able to send fire, lightning and ice out of her hands, sometimes simultaneously, being able to catch Renault off guard and going the offensive, only to have Renault block her attacks one by one. After about two hundred exchanges, there is still no ground gained by either of them.

"We have to help him," noted Lyn. "He's really strong, but what if he's beaten by that morph?" Eliwood agreed. Just as they were about to charge at Limstella when Renault shot a burst of light back at them.

"Who needs your help?" he called angrily. "I fight alone!" With no choice but to stay, Eliwood and his friends could only watch the battle unfold. After about fifty more exchanges, Renault and Limstella clashed palms directly, seemingly bringing the battle to a halt. With sweat coming from both of their brows, the one who gave even slightly would die a horrible death. Everyone held their breath.

Suddenly, a spear came from nowhere and hit Limstella in the ribs. "That's from my sister to you, bitch!" cried Farina, before kneeling to the ground and clutching her newly relocated right shoulder in pain. Severely injured, Limstella could longer draw on the power needed to resist Renault and took his magic head on, spewing a huge mouthful of blood.

"So you have won," she lamented as she died. "This body and heart are constructs, aye, as is this sorrow."

Seeing Nergal's last great commander fall, the remaining uninjured fighters gained huge confidence, and with it, they cleared away the remaining morphs easily. Amazed by Renault's power, Eliwood walked up to greet him.

"Bishop Renault," he called. "Your power is amazing!" Renault, however, looked at him with contempt.

"Hmph," he snorted. "I would never have expected such a young man like you to appreciate my skills. No matter, I fight for myself and myself alone. After I have done what I need to do, I will kill you all so you won't disturb me ever again!" He walked off as he finished speaking. 'What a strange man,' thought Eliwood. However, he was relieved that the battle was finally over.

"I thought that battle was going to go forever," mumbled Hector. "Who the hell is that Renault guy? He's such an arrogant bastard. Although, without him, we probably would have been toast." They all wondered who Renault might be.

"It's not the time for speculation," noted Lyn finally. "Nergal is waiting at the Dragon's Gate! Let's go and stop him!" Eliwood and Hector agreed. However, there was something missing.

"Lord Athos isn't here yet," said Eliwood. "Without the Divine Weapons, we are powerless against Nergal. Even with Renault's incredible power, he is still no match for that fiend. We have to wait for Lord Athos. While we're waiting, we could bury our dead and tend to the injured. Also..." He then turned to Nils.

"...Nils," he called. "If you don't mind, would you like to share your story with us? If you don't want to tell, then we won't force you."

Nils paused for a second. He did not think it was wise to hide anything from Eliwood any more, and he and Ninian still hid portions of the truth from him. If he did not tell him everything, then it is possible more calamities may happen.

"Okay, I will, I'll tell you how Ninian and I came to know you," he replied. "A millenium ago, man chased dragons from the land and exiled us. We had no other place to go, at least not on this world, anyway. We used the Dragon's Gate to flee into another world. When we passed through the gate, many of us did not make it, but the rest of us endured the journey. We found humans there, too, but there weren't many, so we eradicated them easily. We were stable and even happy there, even though we lost most of our memories. However, we would still be nostalgic for our old home, which was here. Once, when we were in prayer, and yearning for our home, his voice called out to us. Ninian was a medium and oracle at the Dragon Shrine and held a lot of power. We thought the voice belonged to an old friend. We knew that opening the gate to return to this world was forbidden but did it anyway. We had no idea the voice belonged to Nergal." At this Eliwood was deep in thought. Something felt out of place, he thought, but did not know what it was.

"But something unexpected happened," continued Nils. "When we opened the Dragon's Gate and returned to this world, we had lost almost all of our strength, the quintessence left in us were less than that of an average human. In order to sustain ourselves and to breathe the air of this world, we had to take human form and placed our energies into a dragonstone. However, Nergal stole our dragonstone and hoped to force us to open the Dragon's Gate, but we escaped. We could not let our foolishness condemn our friends. Disguised as a dancer and a bard, we fled and wandered around the world. That's how we met Lady Lyndis last year."

Lyn was shocked. "All this time, Nergal was after you? Why didn't you tell me? I could have tried to help you."

Nils shook his head and went on. "You treated us so well. We did not want to cause you any more trouble than we did. After we left Lady Lyndis at Caelin, we were captured again. We decided that the only way to escape our persecution was to commit suicide. However, that's when we met Lord Elbert. Even though he learnt of what we are, he never condemned us or anything of the sort. Instead, he tried to make us feel better by telling us stories, stories of his family and his homeland. When Ninian and I listened to his stories, we grew to love him, his wife and son. We had a premonition, no, not a premonition, but we felt that his son would be able to save us. That is why, Lord Eliwood, that is why we trusted you, and why I was so disappointed when you were the one who killed Ninian. But that is of the past, and the fault of it is on us alone. Had we been more open with you, this disaster would never have happened. I believe in you. Even though Ninian's gone, I will continue to protect you with my life. That is Ninian's wish, our wish. We must stop Nergal, and you're the only one who can do it!" Eliwoood felt lifted.

"My friends are with me," he declared. "We will go and stop Nergal and shatter his ambitions, for Ninian and for this world!"

As they waited for Athos to appear, the group treated the injured and grieved for the dead. In addition to Fiora, Wallace, Dorcas and Kent, Guy and Heath also lost their lives. Geitz also succumbed to his injuries and did not make it. Funeral pyres were set up for each of them who had lost their lives, and a service was done for each of them. As Fiora's service commenced, Farina walked up the pyre with Florina to farewell their elder sister.

"I'm sorry I've been such a nuisance, Fiora," lamented Farina. "You have treated me with love and kindness, and I threw it back in your face. I never appreciated the love you showed me until it was too late, and I sincerely apologise. I promise I will honour your affection to me for as long as I live. Goodbye my merciful sister, from your ungrateful younger sister, Farina." Florina also went up to say a few words.

"You were my role model," she choked. "No, more than a role model, you were as good as the mother that I hardly knew. Without you, I would never be where I am today. Goodbye eldest sister, I will never forget you!" The services lasted a while into the night.

o0o

Closing note: I will now apologise if I killed off anyone that you wanted to remain alive. I aimed to kill off the people that didn't contribute much to the story, but I did want to get rid of one semi-important person, hence Fiora kicked it. Please don't take the fatalities personally o_0


	19. Chapter 19

**_Chapter 19: Ablaze: Sword and Spirit_**

After Eliwood listened to Nils recount his story, he could not help feeling uneasy. Nils had mentioned that Nergal's voice was a familiar one. Athos had mentioned that he met Nergal five hundred years ago, but he could easily be older than this. There was no reason to deny that Nergal could potentially be as old as Athos. He then remembered the story that Teodor the Shadow Hawk had recounted of the dark sorceror that had lived in the ancient temple that they battled in. Suddenly, bits of information started falling into place. "You must erase yourself and become an empty vessel. Only then will you be able to receive the dark and master it. If your disposition is weak, the dark will overwhelm you. You will be... lost. At times, you will forget why you sought the power to begin with," Teodor had told them. When Eliwood heard Teodor talk about dark magic, he used Bramimond as an example, so he thought that the mysterious sorcerer who lived at the temple must have been Bramimond. However, Bramimond could not have been the one on the painting that was in the temple, since the man and the dragon were not fighting. He then remembered when Athos mentioned how Nergal had a look of regret and sadness upon seeing the village of Arcadia, and how he had argued: "Power is all I desire. If I had it, why would I be forced to live this life of regret?" when confronted by Athos. Could it be that the mysterious sorcerer who lived in the temple was actually Nergal? Could it be that Nergal seeked power to reach an ends, but lost himself in the process? Then, the one on the painting must also have been him. The dragon on the side must have been... As soon as Eliwood reached this point, he felt like he had just been drenched with icy cold water and his heart skipped a few beats. It was impossible, surely...

Turning to Nils, he got straight to the point. "Nils, forgive me for asking this," he said quietly. "But do you have any memories of your mother and your father?" Nils looked at him with confusion.

"No, Lord Eliwood," he answered. "Our only memories are associated with our mother's ring, Ninis' Grace." Disappointed, Eliwood tried asking something else.

"When you were forced out of Elibe by humans," he tried again. "Did you leave with your mother, or was she left behind in this world?" Frowning, Nils tried to remember.

"No," he answered finally. "I don't know if what I remember is correct, but I remember before we left this world, our mother was captured by humans and our father... our father..." After a few blinks, he gave up. "I just cannot remember, Lord Eliwood, I'm sorry." Eliwood closed his eyes and thought deeply.

"Just one more thing, Nils," he continued. "You and Ninian, we all know that you are dragons now. I just want to clarify one thing. You are half-dragon, half-human, right? I read from the textbooks that many pure dragons are emotionless, while you and Ninian are anything but." Confused as ever, Nils could only nod.

"Of course," he replied. "But why are you asking this?" Eliwood was too deep in thought to answer him. So if Nergal was the man in the picture, he thought, then the dragon in the picture could be his wife or someone who he cared about dearly. 'Like me,' he added. Nils and Ninian were lured across the Dragon's Gate by a familiar voice which was Nergal's. While the siblings did not know who he was, they still felt a familiarity to it. Could it be that the siblings were really hearing their father's voice, or a voice who they saw to be a father figure? If that was the case, then why is Nergal treating them like mere tools, and the siblings do not recognise him? However, this was answered relatively quickly. Nils and Ninian had obviously lost their memories of their father since their mother's ring was the only thing that they remembered, while Nergal must have lost himself while practising dark magic. As for his grievance when confronted by Athos, could it be that it was because the dragon that Nergal cared for was taking away during the Scouring? Powerless to bring her back, he must have turned to dark magic to avenge his wife, only to lose himself and his memories in the process. As he worked out this terrible truth, Eliwood could only feel his hatred for Nergal evaporating away. After all, he himself was almost walking on the exact same path before he realised the truth. Like Nergal, he had lost his beloved due to misunderstandings between dragons and humans, and like Nergal, he only sought power for revenge. His fate was truly more tragic than Eliwood could ever imagine. If he had killed Nergal to avenge Ninian, would he have been appeased of his loathing? 'Possibly not,' Eliwood thought. 'I was going to just kill myself right then and there if I succeeded'.

"Eliwood," called Hector. "Are you alright?"

Eliwood turned around to face his friend. "I'm fine," he whispered. "I was just meditating on something. How is everyone doing? Have we buried our dead yet?"

Hector nodded. "We're tending to the injured now," he explained. "I'm kind of worried about Farina. She's suffered so much today. Not only has her sister passed away, but she also suffered such a painful injury." Eliwood laughed.

"This is the first time I've heard talk like this about a girl, Hector," he noted with a smile. Frowning, he punched Eliwood on the arm.

"Don't you dare," he warned Eliwood jokingly. "You're the lover boy around here." Suddenly, the air around them turned thick.

"What the?" exclaimed Hector. "It's that same feeling as when we fell down that trap in the desert."

Eliwood turned around immediately. "The magic seal?" he asked. Sensing the sudden magical disturbance, Nils came to warn them.

"What's going on?" he wondered. "It feels different from last time. In the desert, its energy felt so hostile, now it feels like... sorrow?" The magic seal was about fifty metres away, but it brought about twenty morphs along with it.

"Brace yourself everyone!" called Eliwood. "We're under attack!" The camp went into battle formation. Although tired, twenty morphs were virtually nothing compared the several hundreds they battled earlier that day, although it was a bit more difficult since magic users were nullified in the battle. Using the ruins as cover, the morphs were easily defeated. Finally, they rushed at the magic seal. After about twenty five exchanges where all the magic seal did was dodge, Hector was able to land a blow on its chest. Severely injured, the magic seal dropped to ground and crumpled to dust, letting out a long cry.

"The barrier's gone," noted Eliwood as the thick air around them dissipated. "After that blow, it crumpled to dust, just like all the other morphs." Hector raised his eyebrow.

"So that thing was a morph?" he asked Nils. "It didn't look like the other ones, though."

Nils nodded. "Yes," he replied. "It was still a morph, however different it was from the others. When it died, it called a name, Nergal. Did you hear its voice? It was filled with a terrible sorrow." Eliwood and the others were confused that a morph could show emotions.

The magic seal's name was Kishuna. It was the only morph Nergal made that had emotions, but because it could to abilities to kill anyone and harvest quintessence, Nergal rejected it and cast it away out of shame. Sad and lonely after being driven away by its master, Kishuna roamed the lands with its handful of morphs, hoping to regain Nergal's favour. After twice failing to kill Eliwood and Hector, Kishuna hopelessly encountered them again, hoping to use his morphs to kill them or die trying.

Watching the battle from the side, Renault could help but sigh with sadness at the destruction of the magic seal.

"You've finally been put to rest, my friend, rest in peace," he whispered to no-one in particular.

o0o

"Blast!" cried Hector angrily. "Where is Graybeard? If he doesn't come soon, Nergal's going to take over the world!" As he finished speaking, a flash of light appeared behind them.

"If you're looking for me, I'm right here." Athos said quietly. He was holding a large bag over his back.

"You're late, Graybeard!" scolded Hector. Athos ignored him and opened his bag. "I enchanted this bag to carry make everything lighter for me to carry," he explained as he reached into it and brought out an ancient tome. "This is Aureola, the Supreme Light, which was wielded by St. Elimine herself. The magic used in this tome should be able to severely harm Nergal. Let a light magic user read it and remember a few spells, it should greatly help." Eliwood and Hector looked at each other. They knew a very powerful light magic user in their group, but did not know whether they could trust him or not.

Athos pulled out Durandal and Armads and went on: "I brought back these two as well, as well as using a few spells out of Aureola to make them more effective against Nergal. Here you go, Durandal for Eliwood, and Armads for Hector."

As he took Durandal into his hands, he felt a huge wave of regret, but also a twinge of anticipation. This sword was the key to their success, but he could never forget the price that was paid to get it. The blood that stained his hands constantly reminded him.

"I can feel it already..." he mused. "It's power beyond words. I cannot hesitate any more." Athos then turned to Lyn as he pulled out another sword.

"Lyndis," he called. "This is for you." Lyn turned around in surprise. "What blade is this?" she asked curiously. "It's a spirit-inhabited sword," answered Athos. "This is the Sol Katti, partner of your blade, the Mani Katti. While it is not a Divine Weapon wielded by the eight generals, it still contains a lot of power, and I also treated it with St. Elimine's magic for it to combat Nergal." Lyn could not stop expressing her gratitude. As soon as she grabbed the handle of the Sol Katti, she felt a sense of completeness as the Mani Katti expressed its happiness at meeting its partner.

"Nils," called Athos. "Is Nergal back there?" Nils looked up.

"I feel something strange," he replied. "However, it is still a tremendous amount of power."

Athos agreed. "He should have lost most of his henchman in the battles. I read energy, too, but it feels different to before. Brace yourselves, he is formidable!"

Preparing to face destiny, Eliwood turned around and faced the rest of the group. He and Hector went to pick the best fighters available to go along with them to face Nergal. Those who were injured were obviously left behind. Along with Hector, Lyn, Athos and Nils, Eliwood decided to take Erk, Legault, Renault, Oswin, Nino, Jaffar and Rath along. The rest were to stay outside and make sure that no morphs ambushed them from behind, as well as tending to the injured. As they were about to enter the main complex of the Dragon's Gate, however, a voice called out to them.

"Lord Hector, Lord Eliwood," called Farina. "Are you forgetting me?"

Turning around, Hector sighed. "You're recovering from an injury," he told her. "It isn't wise for you to be coming with us in your state. This is not to mention that you have just lost your sister. I don't want to burden you with extra suffering. There's a huge chance that we'll all die in there. Be safe and stay outside. This is my second task that you agreed to do for me." However, Farina shook her head as tears began to form. "If you can handle it, why can't I?" she retorted. "Have you forgotten the deal you made to me in the Western Isles? Besides, your deal was that you won't ask me to do anything that betrays my heart, and this one is! I'm never letting you out of my sight again!" Taken aback by Farina's words, Hector could not help his heart softening.

"Alright," he conceded. "Oswin, you stay outside. If we lose, escape immediately." Rather disappointed but not willing to argue, Oswin nodded in acknowledgement, lifted his spear and went back to camp.

"Merlinus," Eliwood called to the merchant, who was planning to enter with his goods. "What are you doing? You're not planning on following us, are you? I have to say, we have to thank you for everything you've done for us." Merlinus drooped his head and cried silently in reluctance and disappointment.

"I thought as much," he sniffed. "You're not taking me with you."

Hector stepped forward and shook his hand. "You're made of sterner stuff than I expected," he praised. "I though you would have fled by now. What are we supposed to do? You can't fight, so we can't afford to take you with us. Here, take this and return to Fargus' ship." He took out a slip of paper with an official-looking seal on it and handed it to Merlinus.

"What is it, may I ask?" asked Merlinus.

"It's a letter of introduction," explained Hector. "Take this to Ostia, and you'll be able to do good business there. Of course, if we fail in our mission, it's just a worthless slip of paper." At this, Merlinus burst into tears.

"But, Lord Eliwood, Lord Hector, I must protest!" he wailed. "I have vowed in my heart that I would continue serving you both for the rest of my days! Please do not abandon me!" Touched by Merlinus' good will, Eliwood could not bring himself to dismiss him, but he knew taking Merlinus along was utter folly.

"Merlinus, please," he pleaded. "Please have faith in us and wait for us. We will return." Knowing that he cannot win, Merlinus nodded with acceptance.

"I understand, my lord," he sighed. "I will wait for you until the end of time, and return safely, please!" Waving goodbye, Eliwood and the others marched into the Dragon's Gate complex to face Nergal.

o0o

With Durandal swung over his shoulder, Eliwood marched into the Dragon's Gate, a sense of purpose flaring in his heart. As they went deeper into the building complex, they saw a tall,cloaked figure staring up at a large door, the Dragon's Gate. Light was flowing from the sides, as if the gate was slightly ajar.

"Nergal!" called Eliwood. "Your time has come!" The tall man turned around to face them. It was indeed Nergal.

"Pah, you're here," spat Nergal. "You're too late. The gate is already opened. I will claim the mighty quintessence of dragons. I will become stronger and move ever closer to perfection." He smiled maniacally as he finished talking." Eliwood could only shake his head. While he despised Nergal to the bones, he knew that all that has transpired is not entirely his fault.

"How many lives must you steal before you're satisfied?" Eliwood exclaimed angrily. "It's not only the ones that die, what about the ones left behind in pain and sorrow? What about them?" Like me and like you, added Eliwood in his head. Nergal merely shrugged.

"I am who I am," he replied with a smile. "The pain of others, I do not feel. The sorrow of others does not touch me. Death feeds me and it pleases me. I am the essence that I consume. You fools will become corpses here, because I wish it to be." Turning around again, he lifted his hands into the air.

"Rise and come forth, my servants!" he called. At once, eight morphs appeared by his side. They were copies of Uhai the Soaring Hawk, Marquess Laus Lord Darin, Lloyd the White Wolf, Linus the Mad Dog, Ursula the Blue Crow, Kenneth the Shrike, Jerme the Death Kite and the leader of the Black Fang, Brendan Reed himself. Eliwood and the others were lost for words.

"This is..." he gasped. The morphs looked exactly like the people that they were based off.

"You seemed rather impressed with my work," laughed Nergal. "Or perhaps it's just you've seen a familiar face?"

Eliwood was outraged. "That's Marquess Laus! And those are Black Fang members! What have you done, Nergal?" he shouted. Nergal seemed proud that he was able to elicit such a response from the young lord.

"The morphs that you see before you," he explained, "I've given them the abilities and appearances of the people whose essences I used to craft them. Well, that's not entirely true. I've made them far more powerful than they originally were. This is ideal for hypocrites like yourself, Eliwood. You continue to regret causing harm to anyone, even your enemies. However, no matter the reason, once the deed is done, it's done. Whether you enjoy it is irrelevant, the result is the same."

'This man is seriously beyond help,' thought Eliwood. "It's not the same!" he declared. "If you feel no horror for in taking someone's life, then... then you are not a man!" Nergal burst into laughter as he heard this.

"Hehehe, your weakness runs deep in you," he mocked. "You can never understand. The concepts of good and evil are devoid of any meaning, any value. These ideas prevent humans from liberating their true potential. Let me ask you Eliwood. Your dear beloved Ninian, you mourn for her, don't you? But she was just a dragon and not Ninian, would you still grieve? What is the difference? She is dead, that's the fact. What matters is only in the mind. This is the ultimate foolishness of the human race!" Driven to rage at how Nergal slandered Ninian, Eliwood's hand went right to the handle of Durandal. However, before he could act, Athos' arm blocked him.

"Nergal," Athos sighed. "After all these years, you have not stopped to reconsider your ideas at all." Turning to face Athos, Nergal scowled.

"The same is true for you Athos," he disputed. "You must see the truth of it! All living creatures take their energy from somewhere. We all use it to create and change it into something better. The knowledge of Arcadia has shown us the road to the ultimate transformation. Yet you will not take that road, why do you reject the obvious?"

Athos shook his head. "I am not opposed to the quest for power, Nergal, nor am I opposed to greater knowledge," he argued. "However, that quest must be driven from within. To fuel your quest by stealing the lives of others does not bring wisdom, but abomination, a crime against what humans stand for!"

As soon as Nergal heard this, he lifted his head and laughed his head off. "Hahaha, yes, I remember, I remember!" he convulsed. "Those words are unchanged from when you first said them five hundred years ago, when you and the dragons conspired to destroy me!" He brought his hand to his turban and took it off. What was revealed was a hideous, swollen eye that was clearly damaged beyond repair. Around it was cracked, yellow scar tissue.

"Look at this wound!" he cried furiously. "The wound that I took from your magic!" Throwing his turban to the floor, he pointed at Athos accusingly.

"It was a mistake," he continued, bitterness lined his voice. "The only person who understood me, the man I believed to be the truest friend... It was a mistake to try and destroy me, Athos! It confirmed many things for me. Trust brings betrayal, friendship brings weakness and mercy brings injustice!"

Unable to take Nergal's monstrous ranting any longer, Eliwood stepped forward. "Wrong!" he corrected Nergal. "If that is what you learnt from your encounter, then you are a fool. Do you believe, that even for a moment, that when wise Athos struck down his dearest friend, he felt nothing? His heart was torn in two, yet you refuse to understand this!" Athos was startled by Eliwood's words, the boy was wiser than he had ever imagined.

"Eliwood..." he began, but the young lord paid him no heed.

"Nergal! I will defeat you here and today!" declared Eliwood. "But even now, I feel no hatred for you. No matter what crimes you have committed, what you have taken away from me, I can let it all slip. You were born a human, but you have lost the heart that defines your humanity. For you, I can only feel pity, and I will put you out of your misery!"

Again, Nergal laughed. "Pity?" he mused surprisingly. "A weak fool like you can feel pity for me? You are truly amusing."

Nino stepped forward to confront Nergal. She had almost thrown up in rage at how Nergal had reanimated the step family was so tragically taken away from her. "You will pay!" she called as she pointed a shaking, accusing finger at the dark druid. "You stole my family from me and let that witch Sonia steal fourteen years of my life from me, and I will make you pay! Not only that, you took those who cared for me and turned them into your dirty puppets! I will avenge them all!" Seeing the young girl confront him, he was more amused than ever. "Hahaha," he laughed. "Sonia's daughter, hm? I remember, your parents died begging. You will join them in the same way."

Suddenly, a blade was draw at Nergal's throat. "No you won't," said Jaffar coldly. Nergal raised his eyebrow.

"It's you, Jaffar?" he snickered. "Turning your blade against me, your master? Do you forget who raised you? Worthless." Turning around, he saw Renault standing casually on the side.

"Nergal, do you remember me?" called Renault softly, but no-one missed a deep underlying hatred behind it. Hearing his voice, Nergal nodded in recognition.

"Ha," he smiled. "You are Renault. You're still living out a wretched existence?" Renault flushed in anger.

"I went astray," he whispered in a deadly tone. "I listened to your honeyed words, I dreamt of the impossible, the return of a lost soul. But what you gave me was a puppet! It was soulless, nothing more than an empty vessel!" Eliwood and his friends looked with astonishment. So Renault knew Nergal, and he also had a grudge against him.

"An empty vessel?" snickered Nergal. "It's what you wanted, isn't it? You desired to bring back your dead friend. You were my experiment and I completed my morph. I'm grateful. Thanks to you, I gained power." Renault couldn't hold onto his anger any longer.

"You villain!" he cried. "You cursed him! Your crime can never be forgiven! I will end you with my hands, in the name of my lost friend!" With this, he raised his palm and launched an attack from the Aureola spellbook at Nergal, which was dodged. Nergal laughed.

"So, you all want revenge on me," he said. "Who should I give myself to? You know what, if you want to defeat me, you can have your chance. Whoever is strong enough to fight me and win will get your revenge, that is if you can best my morphs first!" As he finished saying this, he disappeared to the back of the room, while the eight morphs closed in on the group.

"Be careful, everyone!" called Eliwood. Lyn immediately lifted both Sol Katti and Mani Katti to face off against Lloyd and Linus. With both spirit swords in hand, her power increased dramatically, as if the blades fed off each other. Even though her experience in dual-wielding was limited, the spirit swords seemed to guide her hand. The Reed brothers' morphs fought her with their own special combination, each one's weakness was nullified by the other's strength. Linus would usually go on the offensive, while whatever counter-attack Lyn attempted to use would be nullified by Lloyd. Watching the three way battle between the three sword fighters Lyn, Linus and Lloyd was like watching a blur, they were moving so fast that it was virtually impossible to decipher their individual moves. About three metres away, Rath was in a duel with Uhai. The two nomads were usually on horseback, but in close confinement of the Dragon's Gate building, they were forced to draw their katanas and rely on their swordplay. Both used rather defensive styles, neither were able to gain any kind of advantage even after three hundred exchanges. On the other side of the room, Farina and Hector were fighting with Marquess Laus. Although Farina was lacking in heavy armour, her reduced weight gave her a huge speed advantage, although her spear could not pierce Darin's armour easily. Although powerful, Armads was extremely heavy, so Hector missed Darin quite often. Next to them, Renault and Kenneth were about two metres apart, firing bolts of light magic at each other, each time they collided, huge bangs would be released. After about a hundred stances, they decided to clash palms directly and battle it out on magic power alone. In the centre of the room, Nino and Jaffar were battling Brendan Reed's morph. Although they held the advantage at multiple times, Nino's hesitation to take out the morph who so greatly resembled her stepfather allowed Brendan to regain lost ground.

"Father, brothers," she mumbled. "Why must we fight?" Finally, at the back of the Dragon's Gate, Legault was battling Jerme while Erk fought with Ursula.

As the chaos reigned, Eliwood, Nils and Athos charged at Nergal, who was examining the Dragon's Gate.

"Nergal!" called Eliwood. "Turn around and face me!" Turning around with a smile, Nergal waved out his hand and shot a powerful wave of dark magic at him. Using Durandal, Eliwood blocked the attack.

"So Eliwood, you're here," Nergal commented. "I thought losing Ninian may have distracted you. Have you forgotten her already? How heartless... how heartless..." Angered by Nergal's words, Eliwood charged ahead and brought down Durandal at Nergal's head, only to have it hit thin air as Nergal shifted his position ever so slightly.

"I haven't forgotten," he said angrily. "I'll never forget! How could I forget? Because of you, I killed her by mistake. I won't run away and hide in shame and sorrow, but I will fight you. For Ninian, for this world, I will destroy you right now!" Swinging Durandal around with both hands, Eliwood leapt and hacked, while Nergal dodged and fired bursts of powerful dark magic at him. Nergal's dark magic is from the mysterious dark magic tome, Ereshkigal. His magic power had been cultivated for over a thousand years. Everything that touched the bursts of power was disintegrated instantly. However, the Blazing Sword was one of the most powerful weapons in the world. At the height of its power, it could kill a dragon in a single blow, as evident with Ninian's slaying. It could withstand Nergal's attacks, allowing Eliwood to block. Each time Durandal hit an Ereshkigal blast, the vibration made would cause the building to shake. 'How did this boy become so powerful?' wondered Nergal. Just a couple of weeks ago, Eliwood was completely at his mercy. 'That Blazing Sword of his is utterly amazing. Luckily Athos is not joining in otherwise I'd have quite a lot of trouble on my hands'. At the side, Athos and Nils were watching with great interest. Although he Nergal had to be stopped at all costs, he wanted to see how well Eliwood would do by himself. It was also a private affair, he did not want to ruin the young man's revenge by helping him. Nils, on the other hand, wanted to join in the fight, but could only helplessly watch as he knew he would just get in Eliwood's way.

After about two hundred exchanges, Nergal was starting to look very worried. 'With my power, he should have died in a matter of seconds!' he thought angrily. While he was not losing, having to take so long to deal with this red-haired kid was extremely embarrassing for him. Little did he know that because his power was stolen from others, it was limited. Eliwood's, on the other hand, was driven by his emotions and desires that were as boundless as his feelings for Ninian and his desire for peace. The only bounds were how much strain his body could take, and with a young and fit body, he could take an impressive amount. 'There is no way to redeem what I have done,' he pondered to himself before the battle. 'Ninian would not want me to brood over her death forever when the world is in danger. While he is our bitter enemy, I believe that Ninian would have wanted to save Nergal from himself had she remembered who he was. I must do my best to fulfill her wishes.'

Getting rather irritated, Nergal decided to try and catch the Durandal head on and hope to dissipate some of its power. After all, he could use his quintessence as a buffer to injury. Transferring magical energy to his hands, he cupped his hands around the Blazing Sword as it swung down, stopping it in its tracks. Gasping in shock, Eliwood tried to push the blade down, but to no avail. While Nergal's power was great, he did not know that Athos had treated the sword with magic from the Aureola tome. While the blade was powerful, Nergal should have been able to hold it back without much trouble at all, but now that it had magic that he was weak against infused into it, causing his hands to blister in pain. After about thirty seconds of holding onto the sword, Nergal could no longer take the pain any more and let the sword go, dodging to the side as he did. 'What is this?' he questioned as he held up his blistered hands in shock. They were red and glowing, almost melting away. 'The Blazing Sword's affinity is fire, there should be no way it should be able to do this to me!' Turning around and looking at Eliwood, he felt fear for the first time in a thousand years.

"How?" he gasped. "How is that sword able to do this much to me?"

Athos sighed as he saw his old friend in such a state. "I treated the sword with St. Elimine's light magic," he explained. "However, the fact that you felt obliged to block that attack with your hands means that you have almost no advantage over Eliwood at all. How will you win when his friends join him?" Letting out a roar of rage, Nergal flew at Eliwood, trying to finish it once and for all. However, with his blistered hands, his magic output decreased dramatically.

"Nergal," called Eliwood as he warded off Nergal's attacks. "You can't win. I'm willing to forgive everything you've done, you've had your share of hardships in your life. Give up now and I will spare you. Live and learn the value of life!" Laughing in fury, Nergal only shot him palm at Eliwood again.

"I can't win, boy?" he retorted. "Do you think such weak scum such as yourself can beat me? It's only because a loophole Athos created in your sword that got you the upper hand!" Eliwood smiled sadly.

"That may be so, Nergal," he replied. "But your overconfidence led you to catch my sword with your hands. It has always been your weakness. To think of the suffering you took before losing your humanity, I truly pity how you will end up, defeated by me, the 'weak scum'!" Nergal could continue firing his magic at Eliwood, only to have it blocked by the Blazing Sword. 'What suffering?' he thought. 'Before I lost my humanity? What nonsense is this?' His anger had driven him to point of distracting him from the battle. About forty exchanges later, he flailed his hand at Eliwood in a dangerous way, only to have it chopped off by the Blazing Sword. In shock from losing his hand, he could only watch as Eliwood chopped off his other hand as well.

Blazing Sword pointed at Nergal, Eliwood looked into Nergal's fear-filled eye. At the same time, Lyn and Hector rushed forward to greet Eliwood.

"Finish him!" Hector egged on. Sorely tempted, Eliwood lifted the Blazing Sword, but thoughts of Nergal's past came back into his head, making him lower the sword.

"You are unable to harm anyone any more," whispered Eliwood. "I will not kill a defenseless person. Get out my sight forever, Nergal. Learn the blessing that living gives." Turning around, he began walking away.

"What happened to the others?" he asked Lyn and Hector. Stunned by his refusal to kill Nergal but not wanting to question his motives, Hector could only relay what happened. "Erk and Legault are dead, Farina was knocked out cold by Marquess Laus' spear, but she'll be okay," he told Eliwood. "Renault sustained a heavy injury, but he claims that he'll be fine. Rath also sustained a few injuries. All the morphs were killed. Nino and Jaffar are looking after them now." What happened was Erk was struck in the chest by Ursula's deadly wind magic and died from internal injuries. Seeing Erk fall, Ursula immediately teamed up with Jerme to take out Legault. At that time, Nino and Jaffar finally killed the Brendan Reed-shaped morph and then went to battle Ursula and Jerme. Farina was struck in the head by the butt of Darin's spear, losing consciousness. In a rage, Hector brought down Armads on the morph, splitting him cleanly in two down the middle. He then went to check Farina's condition, sighing in relief as he found her breathing. He then went to help out Nino and Jaffar, killing Ursula and Jerme rather quickly with Armads. After defeating Uhai, Rath rushed to Lyn's side to help her. While they were victorious in taking out the Reed brothers, Rath sustained a few cuts to chest.

As he saw Eliwood turn away and spare him, Nergal could only stare at him in wonder. 'Why?' he inquired himself. 'Why must I lose? More power... I must be stronger...' Then Eliwood's parting words came back to him. " To think of the suffering you took before losing your humanity, I truly pity how you will end up" was what he had said. When did he suffer? Vague memories began coming back into his head. 'Why did I want power?' he wondered. An image of an ice dragon and her name came to his mind. 'Aenir? I don't understand,' he thought. Who was Aenir? The more he pondered, the angrier he became.

"Eliwood of Pherae!" he called maniacally. "You will regret not killing me when you had the chance. I will not die like this... with my last breath, I will make you tremble with despair!" He pointed the stub of his arm at the Dragon's Gate focussed his energy and fired a burst of dark magic at it. He then turned around and leapt at Eliwood one last time. Seeing Nergal's final attempt at his life, Eliwood could only shake his head in disappointment.

"You utter fool!" he yelled as he brought down Durandal on Nergal's head, decapitating the Dark Druid. Nergal's body dropped to floor with a final thud.

Relieved that everything has finally finished, Eliwood let out a triumphant roar and stuck Durandal to the ground. He then turned around to look at the others, only to see Nils crying. The boy had witnessed Nergal die at Eliwood's hands and could only feel relief. However, as the Dark Druid died, he felt a certain connection to the evil one, as if he knew Nergal from somewhere. Nergal was someone of importance to him, yet he cannot remember what. The feelings of losing a someone close to him but not knowing who it was, along with the relief of knowing everything is over, were simultaneously too much for the boy, causing him to burst into tears.

"Nils!" called Lyn. "What's wrong?"

Nils shook his head. "I don't know," was all he could muster. "Why am I crying? Why am I sad?" In the room, only Eliwood had figured out the truth. However, he did not want to trouble Nils by telling it to him.

"It's just relief," he assured Nils. "Come on, Nils, you have done well. We have just saved the world. I'm sure Ninian would be proud of..." Before he could finish, the ground start shaking.

"What the hell?" cried Hector. Suddenly, the Dragon's Gate burst open from behind and three fire dragons walked out.

"Holy shit! Look at the size of them, my legs are trembling just standing here!" shouted Hector, fear gripping his heart.

"Are those dragons?" gasped Lyn. Eliwood could only watch in horror.

"Nergal's final warning... this must be what he meant!" he exclaimed. Even as one of the Eight Heroes, Athos could not avoid being gripped by fear.

"What a calamity!" he said with his voice shaking. "If dragons return to this world, it would become ash within a month!"

Watching the dragons approach them with a thousand years of resentment bottled up, the lords could not help but feel despair.

"There are three of them," noted Lyn as she calmed down first. "I don't know if we can do this, we need some kind of help." Athos stared at her with disbelief. 'From where?' he wondered. However, as the last active member of the Eight Heroes, it was his duty to protect the world from dragons.

"Get back everyone!" he shouted. "I'll do what I can!" Moving forward, he raised his hand and fired his most powerful spell at the dragons. Seeing him attack, the two dragons at the front moved forward and spat fire at Athos. As powerful as he was, Athos could not block two streams of fire from two fully-grown dragons and took them head on. Seeing the wise old man take such a hit, Eliwood and the others rushed up to help him.

"Lord Athos, flee!" Eliwood directed. "The dragons are getting closer!" Athos shook his head.

"They are so powerful," he wheezed. "What can we do?"

"Maybe I can lend you a hand," a cold voice called out suddenly from behind them. Turning around, Eliwood could only gasp in disbelief as a cloaked figure stepped forward towards them. It was Bramimond and on his shoulder, lifeless and peaceful but with a Durandal's sword slash across her neck, was Ninian.

Notes: Hm, I just realised that I've killed off every one of Priscilla's potential husbands o_0. I didn't mean to do that, but oh well.


	20. Chapter 20

Final chapter! I'd like to thank the readers for following to this step. Without further ado, let's jump in!

o0o

**_Chapter 20: A Beacon of Light Shines Through the Darkness_**

"Bramimond!" called Athos, Nils and the lords simultaneously.

"Why have you pulled Ninian from her grave?" Eliwood asked him, only to see Bramimond lift up his hand, signalling him to be quiet.

"Preparations... took time," he told Athos. "Alright everyone, place your hands on my back, I require all of your strength. We will gather the legendary power here!" Without hesitation, the lords, Nils did as they were told while Athos held back the dragons as best he could. Placing Ninian's body onto the floor, Bramimond started drawing power from everyone and put his hands onto Ninian's torso.

Sparks crackled around his hand, creating a gravity-like effect where everyone was pulled towards him. "Bring her back..." he called. "Let the dragon girl's soul be restored!" As he finished speaking, he let out a "ha!" and transferred all of their accumulated energy in her body. At once, Ninian took in a huge gulp of breath, eyes bursting open as if defibrilated, and then slowly regaining her normal breathing rhythm.

"Ninian!" gasped Eliwood and Nils in happiness and amazement as Ninian was brought back to life. They were about to rush forward and greet her when Bramimond raised his hand, signalling them to stay back and not interfere.

"Where am I?" asked Ninian. Helping her up, Bramimond got straight to the point.

"Girl with the exalted blood of dragons, use that power to appease them," he ordered her using her own tone. Ninian looked at him in disbelief. Here she was, just raised from the dead, and he expected her use her power?

"Impossible," she whispered. "Use my power in this world, it can't be done." Bramimond paid her no heed.

"No," he assured her kindly just as she did to everyone else. "Do you not feel it? Do you not feel your power returning?" Ninian paused. She indeed felt power beyond words flowing through her. It was her old power as an ice dragon, but how did you she get it back?

"Yes," she nodded. "Yes, I do. Okay, I will try."

Turning around and facing the dragons, Ninian closed her eyes and focussed her power. Her arms and legs stretched and her torso expanded, quickly turning back into her ice dragon form. With a loud roar, she breathed out a blizzard at the fire dragons. Seeing the impending danger, the fire dragons attempted to defend themselves by breathing fire back at the wall of ice. However, Ninian was a priestess of the Dragon Shrine in charge of overlooking the Dragon's Gate, one of the more powerful dragons, she was completely out of the fire dragons' league. The blizzard ripped cleanly through the dragons' hides, freezing them from inside out. Two of them could not take the cold, and was frozen to death. The third struggled to survive. Having expended all of her energy, Ninian reverted back to human form.

"That's enough, children of flame," she called to the dragons remorsefully. "This is not your fault... I'm sorry." With all her energy burnt up, she collapsed to the ground in a thud.

Watching everything flash past him with his mouth gaping open, Eliwood suddenly saw Ninian fall to the ground and faint. For all this time he had missed her, he finally saw her again, and sincerely hoped that she was not brought back to life only to die again. He and Nils both ran towards her at the same time, but Nils reached her first. Placing his finger in front of her nose, Nils felt a rush of relief.

"It's okay," he said happily. "She's only fainted. Thank goodness, Ninian..." Eliwood smiled, but that smile was quickly wiped off his face when he heard a roar coming from in front of them. The third dragon which was not immediately killed by Ninian was standing up again, having recovered its energy. Furious at being hurt like that it charged at the lords.

"One dragon still remains," Bramimond noted. "Leave the girl to me, I will tend to her." Grabbing Ninian and draping her across his shoulder, he disappeared. Athos, who was spent trying to distract the dragons while Bramimond performed his revival ritual, sat on the ground and could not move.

"Chosen ones!" he called. "You must stop the final dragon and save us all!"

Eliwood, Hector and Lyn immediately went into battle formation. The dragon did not hesitate and breathed out a river of fire at the lords. Rolling to dodge the flame, Eliwood and Hector approached the dragon slowly while Lyn, being the fastest, distracted the dragon. She sprinted around the dragon and moved forward, piercing its hide with the Sol Katti. Feeling a minor tickle on its side, the dragon raised its claws to strike Lyn down, only to miss as she leapt back out of the way. Sensing that the girl was of no threat to it, the dragon bared down at Eliwood and Hector. At this time, the two male lords had already approached within a metre of it. Slashing down with Durandal while Hector did the same with Armads, Eliwood slashed open its hide, eliciting a deafening roar from the beast. Furious with being struck by the two Divine Weapons, the dragon swept its claw around and knocked the two lords off their feet. As soon as they landed, the dragon delivered another hot blast of fire at them. 'We are screwed,' thought Hector, as he closed eyes and prepared for the worst.

Suddenly another blast of fire was fired at them, but in the opposite direction to the dragon's. Standing behind them, Athos had launched his most powerful attack to block the dragon's fire breath.

"Are you both alright?" he called. Eliwood and Hector did not have time to answer as the dragon's claw came down on them again, forcing them to retreat.

With the fight against Nergal, Eliwood had nothing to lose. Whether he lived or he died, it made no difference to him, as long as he hindered Nergal's plan to release dragons back into the world. However, now that Ninian was brought back to life, he was determined to live long enough to see and speak to her once more. 'Even if I have to die after that, I can die without regrets,' he thought. Released of all pain, suffering and negative emotions, his heart uplifted greatly, and the Blazing Sword reacted accordingly. Sensing Eliwood's positive spirit, the Durandal released its full power. Lifting the sword up, Eliwood brought it down in one long strike, shooting blue fire at the dragon, hitting the dragon in the eye. Roaring loudly, the dragon answered by swinging its tail at Eliwood, who was ready and cut off the tail. Bellowing in agony, the dragon breathed fire at the young lord, who quickly jumped out of the way. Seeing this welcome distraction, Hector rushed forward and struck the dragon on its hind legs, causing it to fall over. Blazing Sword in hand, Eliwood rushed forward to finish it off, slitting its throat. Letting out a final roar, the dragon exploded, sending out flames in all directions.

"Get back!" called Athos as he rushed forward and cast up a barrier to shield them from the flames.

As Nils watched the flames dissipate from the dragon, he felt all of his worries dissipate along with them. He had never felt any release like it.

"Lord Eliwood!" he called as he rushed forward. There would be no way to ever express his gratitude. Everything was a product of their weakness, and now, everything was finally resolved. He had never felt any release like it.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" called Eliwood. Everything finally over, he collapsed to the ground in relief and mirth.

"Well done, brave successor of Roland," congratulated Athos. "It's finally over, everything is..." Without being able to finish, he suddenly doubled over and spat out a huge gulp of blood.

"Lord Athos?" called the lords and Nils in horror. Athos, on the other hand, merely smiled in acceptance.

"Haha," he laughed. "Looks like I have exhausted all of my strength." Turning to Bramimond, who had just reappeared, he whispered: "I'll die before you, my friend."

Nodding in acknowledgement, he replied: "I may follow you soon, for now, I will sleep again", and disappeared, returning to the Shrine of Seals. As soon as Bramimond disappeared, Athos could not stand any longer and fell to the ground.

"Lord Athos!" called Eliwood. Raising his hand, Athos signalled him to not worry.

"Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, I have lived a long time, but now, I am done," he whispered with a shrug. "Do not grieve for me, soon, I will be with long-lost friends. I have no regrets. Now, my friends, let me leave you a parting gift. As I lay dying, I see many things, I see the future." Smiling, he let himself drift through his visions. After about a minute of probing the future, the smile disappeared in a flash.

"Oh, why?" he moaned sadly. "Why is this not now? Neither Bramimond nor I... will be here... to help a land in need..." Shocked by his despair, the lords figured that it must have been something pretty horrible.

"What do you see?" asked Lyn.

Athos opened his eyes. "An evil star... rises in Bern," he explained. "All of Elibe will once again be washed in blood." Eliwood, Hector and Lyn looked at each other fearfully, not knowing what to do. "But do not fear," Athos continued. "Once again, Lycia brings hope. Children of fire... everything..." Unable to continue, Athos' hand dropped to the ground and stopped breathing as he died. Seeing the old man finally lay to rest, the three lords could not help but feel sad, but knew it was inevitable. Grateful to the wise old one's help, Eliwood closed Athos' eyes for him.

"Lord Athos," he whispered. "Even at the end, he was concerned for us..." Hector and Lyn also knelt down in respect and sadness for the Archsage.

"Look," pointed Lyn. "Lord Athos, it's almost as if he's smiling..." Nils also went up to pay his respects. Here was the man that helped them through their adventure, without ever wanting anything back from them. Without him, who knows where they would be?

"This world will once again be enveloped in darkness," said a voice from behind them sadly. "But at the end, a saving light shall rise..." The hairs at the back of Eliwoods neck stood up at once as he turned around. He knew that voice only too well. It was Ninian, the one whom he had thought of and missed horribly for the past few weeks. Was it real or was it a dream? Was he hallucinating from his own grief, or she really standing in front him? He moved towards her slowly, as if only just waking up, and put his hand on her cheek, trying to confirm to himself that she was not just an illusion. Feeling her soft yet solid skin over the wild pulsing of his heart, he could not hide his excitement any longer and embraced her tightly. There was truly no bliss in return without the pain of farewell, from tragedy came triumph, one cannot know the taste of true sweetness without going through bitterness.

"Ninian," he breathed happily. "I'm... I'm... I don't know what to say. I don't know how to express how glad I am to see you here. I can't believe you're back. How I've missed you! Would you forgive me?" What seemed like an eternity in his arms, Ninian wished this moment could last forever. However, she knew it just could not last and tears began running down her cheeks.

Seeing her crying, Eliwood broke the embrace and looked into her tear-filled eyes. "What's the matter?" he asked kindly. "You are not happy to see me? You can't forgive me can you?" He was of course, referring to his unintentional attack on her when she was an ice dragon. However, Ninian shook her head, and looked away.

"No, it's not that, Lord Eliwood," she sobbed. "It is my fault, everything is. I only wish we could be together forever, but it's just impossible..." Eliwood stared at her in shock.

"Why?" he asked with confusion. "Are you afraid of this world and its people?" Again, Ninian shook her head.

"I have to go home," she told him truthfully, words which nearly punched out Eliwood's heart. "I'm the cause of all of this. It was my weakness that invited this tragedy. Here on Elibe, we were nurtured for ages in our land of birth. Even after humans invaded and drove us out, not a day has passed that I did not miss it. Memories of my mother and father, of my home, I yearned to see it again. Those children, the fire dragons, they were just like me. We knew it was forbidden, yet we answered Nergal's called and opened the gate. We did not intend to stay long at all, just to see our home one last time, but Nergal captured us and it led to this."

Eliwood hated it when Ninian would blame herself like this. He wanted to tear his heart in two every time he watched her do it. Since when was it her fault? If humans did not drive out the dragons, would they have come to this point? If humans did not force Nergal down the dark path, how would Nergal have the heart to do what he did to his children?

"Ninian," he said gently. "Stop blaming yourself. You know I hate it when you do that. We humans took control of the continent as if it was our right. We never considered who or what we drove away. Ninian, Nils, the blame of this is never yours alone, in fact, it was circumstance that drove you to this. While we can claim ignorance, we still bear some responsibility." Although Nils and Ninian knew Eliwood was one the kindest humans they had ever known, they did not expect to hear what he just said from any human.

"Lord Eliwood, do you truly believe that?" asked Nils.

Eliwood had always been a man of his word. "Of course I do," he replied. "If my father were here, he would say exactly the same thing. Let's work together and think about the future. If the entire continent were made a place where dragons and humans could live together like the hidden village that Lord Athos spoke of, Arcadia..." Touched by his words, Ninian let out a fresh burst of warm tears. Putting her hand to his mouth, she smiled lovingly, but clearly without happiness whatsoever.

"What a wonderful world that would be," she sighed. "But that's something that won't happen for a long, long time. So we cannot stay here. The Dragon's Gate is still open, if it remains so, other dragons will certainly pass through. Before that happens, we must return to our world. We must regain our power and seal it from that side."

Eliwood knew it was useless to argue, yet watching Ninian pass through the Dragon's Gate, never to return, was something he could not do.

"Are you saying we'll never see each other again?" he cried despairingly. "That can't be! If you must go, then so will I!" Eyes open in shock but touched by Eliwood's affection, Ninian could only throw herself into his bosom and wept uncontrollably.

"Lord Eliwood," she sobbed. "I have truly been blessed to have had the chance to meet you. I really wish it wasn't our cruel fate to be like this." Looking up into his eyes, she pointed to the cut to her neck she received from Durandal.

"I would rather take a thousand slashes to the throat from your sword rather than return to our world, but I just cannot. Being dead was far better than having to face this burden. But this is something I must do, I know you can never forgive me for doing so, and I will never forgive myself either." Getting up, she signalled for Nils.

"Come, Nils, let us go. We must return to our world," she told him. Turning around, she faced Eliwood for the last time.

"Please don't forget me, Lord Eliwood," she sniffed. "I know I will never forget you, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years, for as I as live, I will never forget your affection and kindness. May there be more people like you in this world."

"Ninian!" called Eliwood in despair. He could not tell when he felt worse, the time he killed her with Durandal or the moment he was currently in. When he killed Ninian, he was so upset that he could not eat for days, but now, watching her leave him while alive and well, obviously in great sadness herself, blew his heart to smithereens. Everything he had done for the world, every act of kindness that he had ever done had led him to this moment, this is how the world had repaid him. Letting out an anguished scream, he pulled Durandal from the ground and slashed it down toward the far wall in frustration, ripping a deep gush in it, deep enough so the light from the outside seeped in from it. Hector and Lyn gasped in shock and fear of the power of the Blazing Sword. He held his head in his hands in disappointment and hopelessness.

Watching from the side and seeing the reluctance and affection between Eliwood and Ninian, Nils could not help but feel sadness and a twinge of regret. After all, he had vowed to pay back Eliwood in any way he could after all he had done for them. Tapping his sister on the shoulder, he motioned for her to come to the side.

"Ninian, could you come over to the side for a moment? I need to tell you something," he requested. Ninian did as she was asked.

"What is it?"

Nils held his sister's hand tightly. "Ninian, the air of this world has changed so much from what we knew," he said. "No matter how much time passes, our strength will never return. If we stay here, we won't survive long."

Ninian looked puzzled. "What are you saying?" she questioned. Why did he just tell her that? It made absolutely no sense. They were returning to their world, why would they care if they cannot live long on Elibe? Or was he suggesting something else? Stepping towards the Dragon's Gate, Nils could only sigh in melancholy.

"But even knowing that your life will be short, you truly wish to remain here, don't you? There is not a single person in this room that thinks otherwise," he commented. "I understand, Ninian. Stay here with Lord Eliwood and be happy. I could never live with myself if you had to live thousands of years of regret." Turning to Eliwood, he bowed his head in respect and gratitude.

"Lord Eliwood, thank you, for everything. Ninian... my sister, please cherish her with all your heart. I know she will be happy with you."

Ninian gasped. "Nils!" she called. "You... are you..." She could not believe what she had just heard. She had been together with Nils for her entire life, never apart, now he was suddenly willingly to give her up. Looking at Nils, then at Eliwood, she did not know which one she would miss more.

Seeing his sister's reluctance, Nils could only step forward and embrace her for the last time. "I'm going alone," he told her. "I want to live a long time, I don't have your curiosity. Don't cry, Ninian. Even if we're apart, if we never see each other again, nothing, nothing in time and space will ever break our bond." Breaking the embrace, he could not stop a few drops of tears dropping from his eyes.

"But I know what's important, sister," he continued. "Live as long and as happy as you can, after a thousand years, it's time you got it. It's the least thing I can do to thank Lord Eliwood for both of our lives."

Grateful to Nils' willingness to part with his sister, Eliwood could only drop to his knees in front of the boy and bow to him with genuine appreciation.

"Thank you Nils," he thanked wholeheartedly. "I will never forget what you have done for us." How could he? Without the boy's selflessness, he would not have known how to live with himself for quite a long time.

Nils quickly helped him up. "No, Lord Eliwood," he said. "Thank _you_. Thank you for saving my sister and I, and for giving us hope for the future." Waving goodbye, Nils stepped into the Dragon's Gate, never to return. After about half a minute, the light flowing from the gate disappeared as he closed it from the other side.

o0o

As Eliwood, Lyn, Hector and Ninian watched Nils cross the barrier back to his own world, they could only feel sad and reluctant. However, the relief that everything is over hit them at last.

"Come on, Ninian," called Eliwood. "Let's go home. I promise you'll be happy." Ninian nodded. She was finally home, and even though Nils had to leave her to allow her to stay, ultimately, she felt satisfied and complete. She was finally with someone she loved, in her rightful home, Elibe. Making their way back down from the Dragon's Gate, the lords saw Nino and Jaffar treating Rath and Renault's injuries, while Farina sat on the side, looking rather annoyed. Seeing Hector come down, she walked straight up to him and punched him in the arm.

"What was that for?" asked Hector angrily. Pouching her lips, she grabbed his ear and pulled it tightly.

"You left me and went after the action, didn't you?" she scolded him playfully then she started slapping him over and over again. "You could have at least woke me up so I can help, how dare you, how dare you, how dare you!" Turning around and seeing Ninian next to Eliwood, Farina's jaw dropped.

"Is she a ghost?" she asked Hector.

"Of course not," replied Hector. "She killed the dragons for us, why don't you go and thank her?" Happily, Farina greeted Ninian with reverance.

"Please do not wasting your effort with niceties, Miss Farina," Ninian replied. "I'm just a girl trying to make her way around the world, that is all."

While the lords were fighting the dragon, Nino and Jaffar carried Erk and Legault's bodies out to camp to be buried along with the rest of the dead. After they treated Rath and Renault to the point where they could walk again, everyone made their way back out of the Dragon's Gate.

It was the dawning of a new day, a new beginning for them all. Seeing Eliwood, Hector and Lyn walk out of the Dragon's Gate triumphantly, everyone in the camp cheered, all tragedies of the past few months seemed to wash away with laughter. Even with the number of dead and wounded, they could not help but feel relieved and triumphant. Victory, it seemed, freed them all.

o0o

Fifteen years had passed since the Battle of Dread Isle. During that time, Eliwood succeeded his father as the Marquess of Pherae, while Hector did likewise in Ostia. Lyn returned to Sacae with Rath and bore him a daughter named Sue. She left Caelin in Ostia's protection. Wil and Rebecca returned to Pherae, where they married and give birth to a son named Wolt. Dart also returned with Rebecca and Wil back to their village in Pherae. Bartre, who originally only saw Karla as a rival, turned the rivalry into love instead. They lived together on the Western Isles for about ten years until Karla fell ill and passed away. Bartre and his daugher, Fir, roamed around the Western Isles, fighting injustice and slavery. After meeting with Karla after the battle against Nergal, Karel finally repented his past crimes and retired to Bern, where he did many heroic deeds, earning him the title of "Sword Saint". Pent and Louise returned to Etruria to live a peaceful life. Pent resigned as the Mage General, which caused quite a lot of controversy, but in the end all he wanted to do was live together with Louise, who gave birth to two children named Klein and Clarine. Lucius opened an orphanage in Araphen, another Lycian nation, while Raven helped him out from time to time. Raven himself lived on as a mercernary. Merlinus opened a store in Ostia, but closed down later to serve Eliwood as his Chief Advisor.

Nino and Jaffar, the last members of the Black Fang, had nowhere to go. As a sign of good will and gratitude, Eliwood invited them to live in Pherae near where the castle was. They enjoyed a quiet life there, where Nino gave birth to twin boys named Lugh and Ray. However, because of the assassination on Prince Zephiel, the kingdom of Bern issued bounties to hunt down Black Fang members. After a few years of happiness, Jaffar suddenly disappeared when bounty hunters came for him. Knowing that the bounty hunters would come for her as well, Nino left her children in Lucius' orphanage and went searching for Jaffar, hoping to find him. They were never heard of again.

Florina returned to Ilia, where she eventually became one of the greatest pegasus knights in the land, imparting her knowledge to young cadets. After Caelin was taken under Ostia's wing, Sain became a freelance knight who protected the civilians of the former Lycian nation. He was unable to drop his womanising ways, although he was so popular in the former Caelin that most women wanted to date him anyway. Matthew, Serra and Oswin continued their services to Hector, Matthew was put in charge of intelligence, while Oswin became a general for the Ostian Armour Knights. Lowen continued his service to House Pherae, as did Marcus and the married Harken and Isadora. Even though he was a veteran and age was catching up to him, Marcus was selected by Eliwood to be in charge of the entire Pheraen military, overseeing its activity, strategy, and training. Priscilla returned to her adopted parents in Caerleon, Etruria. Hawkeye returned to Nabata, where he eventually passed away from old age. He left the mantle of "defender of the desert" to his daughter, Igrene. Vaida returned to Bern, where she tried to aid Prince Zephiel in secret, but was eventually discovered and sentenced to imprisonment. No-one knows what happened to Renault.

Canas travelled around the world, but he returned to his home in Ilia. Unfortunately for the shaman, he was killed when he tried to calm a freezing Ilian blizzard using his magic, leaving behind a two year old son named Hugh.

It was a chilly autumn afternoon. Two people rode on a horse as it slowly trudged toward Castle Ostia, a red haired man and his son.

"We'll be at Castle Ostia in about half an hour," Eliwood told his son, who was looked no older than ten years old. "I haven't seen your Uncle Hector in fifteen years, I wonder how he's been?" The boy looked up at his father's remiscent form.

"Daddy, is Marquess Ostia really your best friend?" asked the boy. "How come we haven't met him sooner?"

Smiling at his son's inquisitiveness, Eliwood answered: "Roy, Lord Hector is a busy man. He's leads the entire Lycia Alliance. How does he have the time for such leisure activities? Besides, he isn't the type of person you would call a leader, anyway..."

This got Roy interested. "What do you mean by that, daddy?" he asked curiously. Laughing, Eliwood told his son everything about Hector, his personality, his likes and dislikes and so on.

"As you see," narrated Eliwood. "Lord Hector really doesn't like being a leader, he just likes to fool around and have fun. Although, the one thing I really admire him for is his ability to prioritise his feelings."

Raising his eyebrow, Roy was confused. "What does that mean, daddy?" he asked. Eliwood thought about it for a second, trying to determine what was the best way to explain it so a child could understand.

"He can hide his feelings if he thought they were bad for the group," he finally explained. "Once, when Lord Hector and I were fighting against a powerful enemy, news came in that his brother had passed away. He did not want to burden me and the rest of the group, therefore he pretended he knew nothing and everything was fine. I could never do that." Roy was amazed.

"Is this when mummy was still alive?" he asked. "Please tell me about mummy again."

Eliwood sighed when Roy asked this. His son would ask him to tell him stories about Ninian every day, it was starting to get tedious. After the battle against Nergal, Eliwood and Ninian lived happily in Castle Pherae and was married soon after Eliwood succeeded his late father as marquess. He took her around to see the Elibe and Ninian would reminisce about how she had known it and how much it has changed. After five years of living together, Ninian finally bore Eliwood a child and they named him Roy. However, just like Nils had predicted, Ninian did not have long to live on Elibe. Almost a year after she gave to Roy, her body simply could not take the environment on Elibe any longer and she passed away. Although sad at her passing, Eliwood had grown more mature after six years, and he had long prepared for the day that death had to part them.

"Don't be sad, my darling Eliwood," she told him on her deathbed. "These six years with you have brought a thousand times more happiness than the rest of my one thousand years of existence. Grieving would only make both of us sad. For the sake of our child and for everybody else, it is better that you renege your promise to me. I'll wait for you in the next world." And so, for the sake of Pherae and their child, Eliwood brought Roy up by himself. Even though Eliwood had arranged for Rebecca to be like a surrogate aunt to Roy, he still craved for the love from a mother and envied other children who had mothers. The only thing close was for Eliwood to tell him stories about Ninian every day. He did not tell his son anything about the Nergal affair or anything to do with Ninian being a dragon, he wanted his boy to grow up being an ordinary human, even though he would be the son of a noble.

'Well, when Lord Uther passed away, Ninian actually _wasn't_ alive,' thought Eliwood. "Yes Roy," he sighed grudgingly, albeit slightly untruthfully. "I'll tell you more about your mother later, we're here." They had arrived at the gates of Castle Ostia. Delighted to see his friend visit him, Hector greeted Eliwood personally and led him into the castle.

"Eliwood, how are you?" he greeted as they embraced. Fifteen years had passed since they last met. Hector had grown the long blue beard that he had envisioned in his dreams. Eliwood returned the greeting while letting Roy play in the garden.

"Long time no see, Hector, I see you've grown into quite the marquess," he said. Annoyed at Eliwood for addressing him like this, he ignored the last bit of Eliwood's sentence.

"It's been fifteen years, hasn't it, the last time we met was at my brother's funeral. I'm sorry to hear about Ninian, but there is absolutely no way I can take a step out of Ostia these days." Eliwood waved his hand, signalling to Hector to not worry.

"Don't apologise," he brushed it off with a smile. "Ninian was happy. She preferred the peace and quiet, and a loud, noisy brute like you would have just spoiled everything." Laughing, Hector slapped Eliwood across the back.

"You little runt," he retorted. "You've changed so much."

"And you haven't changed a bit, apart from that beard you've dreamt about," Eliwood returned the sentiment. "It's been fifteen years, time sure flies right by. My father's disappearance, his death, the battle with Nergal and those fire dragons... the memories are so vivid it's as if it all happened yesterday." He seemed nostalgic.

Hector snorted. "Hmph, Nergal..." he started. "He was such a blackheart. I've had enough battles like that." Looking over Eliwood's shoulder, he saw Roy running around in the garden.

"Is that your son over there?" he asked Eliwood.

Eliwood nodded. "I've been waiting for a chance to introduce you to him, but I never got the chance. Roy!" he called. "Come over here and say hello to Marquess Ostia!" Roy answered his father's call and immediately came in to greet Hector.

Slightly bashful, he stuttered: "Ye-yes sir! P-please to meet you Lord Hector. My name is Roy." 'Just like Eliwood,' noted Hector with a smirk. 'Overly courteous'.

"Roy, is it? Nice to meet you lad," Hector returned the greeting. "Well, I guess I should introduce my daughter, then! Lilina, dad wants you to meet some people!" A young blue haired girl around the same age as Roy walked into the room. Seeing the visitors, Lilina held onto her father's leg and tried to hide from view. Hector pulled his leg back.

"What?" he asked. "Are you being shy? You don't have to be so nervous. This is your father's old friend and his son." Relaxing a little bit but still very shy, Lilina let go of her father's leg and quietly mumbled "Hello" while her face reddened like a tomato. Seeing the shy little girl greet him, Eliwood smiled kindly at her and returned the greeting.

"Hello, Lilina," he said courteously. He then wheeled steered Roy to the front. "This is Roy," he introduced. "He's about the same age as you." Seeing another child, Lilina was delighted. She rarely interacted with other children, since she spent most of her life in the castle.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted. Like Lilina, Roy did not get many chances to interact with other children. Apart from Rebecca and Wil's son Wolt, who became his milk brother, Roy had less contacts with other children of his age.

"Lilina, do you want to be friends?" he offered. "Let's go play outside." Smiling, Lilina agreed and the two of them set off at once.

"What a cute little child," noted Eliwood. "Good thing she took after Farina." Hector turned around to give him a sour look.

"What?" he stammered. "She looks just like me, doesn't she?"

Eliwood laughed. "You are a sarcastic one, Marquess Ostia!"

Hector returned the joke by retorting: "You're the one putting on airs, Marquess Pherae!" Fifteen years of separation was laughed off in just a few tens of seconds. Hector was actually quite formal as marquess, but with Eliwood around, he was finally able to relax.

"Farina does all the finance for me," he was telling Eliwood. "She's good with all that stuff. She could sweet-talk every noble she meets, and the Ostian coughers would expand just like that. Do remember what I did to recruit her?" Eliwood slammed his face into his palm.

"Of course I do, Hector," he chuckled. "You blew a 20,000 black hole in our funds. How could I forget that?" Hector and Farina got married soon after Hector became the marquess. They had a child before Lilina whom Hector named Uther, after his brother. However, that child died of tuberculosis before he turned three.

"By the way, Hector," Eliwood started talking again, but with a more serious tone. "I heard that the king of Bern died. It was fairly sudden, too."

Eliwood's main purpose to visit Hector was to discuss this very matter. Introducing Roy was lower priority. King Desmond was killed just a few days ago, and Bern was in disarray. Being the biggest military power in all of Elibe, Bern's sudden chaos had put the whole continent on guard. According to Hector's spies, there was actually an assassination attempt on Prince Zephiel, but somehow it was King Desmond who died.

"It's a really strange tale," mumbled Hector thoughtfully. "At first, I had heard that it was the prince who was killed, but then new information came out three days later saying it was actually the king who had died." Eliwood was extremely puzzled too.

"Do you remember Archsage Athos' prediction?" he asked. "Is something happening in Bern?" Looking at each other, they both hoped that it was not the case.

Suddenly, from the garden, Lilina called out: "Daddy, can I show Roy my pony?" Breaking out of his worried trance, Hector nodded.

"Of course, Lilina, be careful!" he told her. Delighted, Lilina dragged Roy to the stables with excitement.

Pensively, Eliwood and Hector sighed as they watched the two children rush off to play. 'Children are truly innocent to the world,' they thought. They had no idea of the kind of hardship that awaited them.

"For the sake of our children, I'll stop anything that may happen," declared Hector. "I'll sacrifice my life to make it so." Eliwood nodded in agreement.

"So will I, 'Once again, Lycia brings hope'," Eliwood recounted. "What if it turns out wrong? No, it must happen..." Staring at the sunset and the children in the garden, the two lords enjoyed the present while looking to the future.

o0o

o0o

o0o

And that is the end! Hope you've enjoyed it and I'll thank you, the reader again, for following the story to the end and didn't give up on it. I don't know what I'm going to do after this, I've started on FE6, but I'm on the verge of flipping out, so don't expect anything for now. It's been a long time, and I'll see you next time!


End file.
